Elevated serum IGFBP-1 levels correlate with cognitive deficits in treatment-resistant and chronic medicated schizophrenia patients

• Published in: Cytokine (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 182; p. 156728
• Main Authors: Yang, Haidong, Yang, Man, Zhang, Yuting, Shi, Zhihui, Zhang, Xiaobin, Zhang, Caiyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use; Case-Control Studies; Cognition Disorders - blood; Cognitive deficits; Drug Resistance; Humans; Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 - blood; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - blood; Schizophrenia - drug therapy; Treatment-resistant schizophrenia; Schizophrenia; Treatment-resistant schizophrenia; Cognitive deficits; Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1
• ISSN: 1043-4666; 1096-0023; 1096-0023
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2024.156728

•We measured serum IGFBP-1 in treatment-resistant and chronic medicated schizophrenia.•Both patient groups exhibited significant and pervasive cognitive deficits.•Serum IGFBP-1 levels were significantly elevated in TRS and CMS patients.•Serum IGFBP-1 levels were associated with distinct cognitive deficits in each group. Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric disorder with diverse cognitive impairments. Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1), a ubiquitous negative regulator of IGF signaling, crosses the blood–brain barrier after peripheral synthesis. Given the crucial role of IGF signaling in cognitive function, we reasoned that altered serum IGFBP-1 concentrations might be associated with cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. To test this hypothesis, we examined the relationship between serum IGFBP-1 levels and cognitive performance in both medicated and treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) patients. Serum IGFBP-1 was measured in 31 TRS patients, 49 chronic medicated schizophrenia (CMS) patients, and 53 healthy controls. Clinical symptom severity was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and cognitive functions using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Both TRS and CMS patients exhibited cognitive deficits compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05). Serum IGFBP-1 concentration differed significantly among groups (F=36.805, p < 0.001) and post hoc tests demonstrated significantly higher concentrations in both schizophrenia groups compared to controls (p < 0.001). Further, serum IGFBP-1 concentration was higher in the TRS group than the CMS group (p = 0.048). Correlation analysis identified a significant relationship between serum IGFBP-1 and attention in the TRS group (r = 0.411, p = 0.021), immediate memory in the CMS group (r = -0.417, p = 0.003), and RBANS total score in the CMS group (r = -0.368, p = 0.009). Multiple regression analysis adjusting for confounding factors revealed that serum IGFBP-1 was independently associated with attention in TRS patients (p = 0.016, 95 %CI. 0.002–0.015) and immediate memory in CMS patients (p = 0.022, 95 %CI-0.012 to −0.001). Elevated serum IGFBP-1 concentration may serve as a predictive biomarker for distinct cognitive deficits in TRS and CMS patients. Further investigations are warranted.