David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Anti-inflammatory shows schizophrenia treatment potential
21 February 2007
Schizophr Res 2007; 90: 179?185
Celecoxib may be an effective treatment to take in addition to neuroleptics for the management of chronic schizophrenia, study findings suggest.
Cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors such as celecoxib reduce the production of proinflammatory cytokines, explain Shahin Akhondzdeh (Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran) and colleagues.
"Chronically activated macrophages and T lymphocytes along with excessive interleukin (IL)-2 and other cytokine secretions has been hypothesized as the cause of schizophrenia," they add.
To investigate whether celecoxib's effect on immune system responses benefited schizophrenia patients, the team randomly assigned 60 patients with chronic schizophrenia to take 400 mg/day of the COX-2 inhibitor or placebo in addition to 6 mg/day of risperidone for 8 weeks.
Patients in both treatment groups experienced significant decreases in positive, negative, and general psychopathological symptoms. However, patients taking celecoxib showed greater reductions than those given placebo.
Total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores fell from around 90 points at baseline to approximately 60 in those taking risperidone plus placebo and to 50 in those taking risperidone plus celecoxib.
Mean Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale scores were higher for the placebo group than for those taking celecoxib, at 3.63 versus 3.20, but the difference was not statistically significant.
"The therapeutic benefit of the combined therapy has to be attributed to effects of celecoxib," say Akhondzdeh and co-workers.
"This finding might reflect a complex interplay between the anti-inflammatory effects and the modulation of glutamatergic and dopaminergic systems by the COX-2 inhibitor," they write in the journal Schizophrenia Research.
The team concludes: "The present study indicates celecoxib as a potential adjunctive treatment strategy for chronic schizophrenia and anti-inflammatory therapies should be further investigated."
Abstract
21 February 2007
Schizophr Res 2007; 90: 179?185
Celecoxib may be an effective treatment to take in addition to neuroleptics for the management of chronic schizophrenia, study findings suggest.
Cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors such as celecoxib reduce the production of proinflammatory cytokines, explain Shahin Akhondzdeh (Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran) and colleagues.
"Chronically activated macrophages and T lymphocytes along with excessive interleukin (IL)-2 and other cytokine secretions has been hypothesized as the cause of schizophrenia," they add.
To investigate whether celecoxib's effect on immune system responses benefited schizophrenia patients, the team randomly assigned 60 patients with chronic schizophrenia to take 400 mg/day of the COX-2 inhibitor or placebo in addition to 6 mg/day of risperidone for 8 weeks.
Patients in both treatment groups experienced significant decreases in positive, negative, and general psychopathological symptoms. However, patients taking celecoxib showed greater reductions than those given placebo.
Total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores fell from around 90 points at baseline to approximately 60 in those taking risperidone plus placebo and to 50 in those taking risperidone plus celecoxib.
Mean Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale scores were higher for the placebo group than for those taking celecoxib, at 3.63 versus 3.20, but the difference was not statistically significant.
"The therapeutic benefit of the combined therapy has to be attributed to effects of celecoxib," say Akhondzdeh and co-workers.
"This finding might reflect a complex interplay between the anti-inflammatory effects and the modulation of glutamatergic and dopaminergic systems by the COX-2 inhibitor," they write in the journal Schizophrenia Research.
The team concludes: "The present study indicates celecoxib as a potential adjunctive treatment strategy for chronic schizophrenia and anti-inflammatory therapies should be further investigated."
Abstract
