Reduced anticardiolipin antibodies in first episode and chronic schizophrenia.

The objective of this study was to measure anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) in major psychiatric diseases. In Experiment 1, 96 subjects were evaluated: 20 first episode schizophrenia patients, [SCZ1] 20 chronic schizophrenia patients in acute exacerbation [SCZ2], l9 bipolar patients, 20 schizoeffective patients and 17 healthy age matched controls. In Experiment 2, 97 subjects were studied: 20 first episode schizophrenia patients [SCZ1], 60 chronic schizophrenia patients in acute exacerbation [SCZ2] and 17 healthy matched controls. Diagnosis was performed according to DSM-IV. Serum samples were tested for aCL in parallel by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the presence of bovine serum. Five positive control samples with high levels of aCL were run in parallel. Background binding to wells uncoated with cardiolipin (CL) was also measured. In Experiment 1, aCL levels were similar in the control, bipolar and schizoeffective groups. In contrast, aCL levels in the SCZ1 and SCZ2 groups were significantly lower than in controls. In Experiment 2, Significantly lower levels of aCL antibodies were found in all schizophrenic patients versus controls. Interestingly, background levels in both experiments were higher in the schizophrenic groups than in controls. Serum aCL levels are lower in schizophrenic patients, and especially in first episode cases, than in controls. One possible explanation for the lower levels of aCL in schizophrenic patients is the consumption of these antibodies in the acute phase and exacerbation of the disease. The higher background levels in schizophrenic patients may indicate a high level of antibodies to some serum component in schizophrenic patients that is still unclear and needs further elucidation.