Journal of International Psychiatry

Objective To analyze the relationship between serum MIF and Hcy levels and clinical symptoms and cognitive function in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Methods 78 patients with schizophrenia for the first time were selected as the observation group, and 80 healthy persons were selected as the normal group by outpatient physical examination at the same time. The levels of MIF and Hcy in serum of the two groups were compared. The general data of the observation group were collected, and the symptoms of psychiatric disorders were assessed by the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS), and the cognitive function was assessed by a set of Neuropsychological State Assessment Tools (RBANS). Results The levels of MIF and Hcy in the observation group were (98.6+19.3) pg/ml and (13.4+3.1) mol/L respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the normal group (82.7+16.5) pg/ml and (12.3+2.8) mol/L (P<0.05); the scores of positive symptoms, negative symptoms and general symptoms in the high group were significantly higher than those in the low group (P<0.05); the levels of MIF and Hcy in the high group were (102.5+20.7) pg/ml respectively./ The scores of immediate memory, visual span, speech function and delayed memory in high group were significantly lower than those in low group (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in attention score between the two groups (P > 0.05). The clinical symptoms were closely related to Hcy, immediate memory, visual span and speech function. The level of Hcy was related to clinical symptoms and immediate memory (P < 0.05).

Schizophrenia; Cognitive function; Homocysteine; Macrophage migration inhibitor