title: Mitogen-stimulated interleukin-2 production in never-medicated, first-episode schizophrenic patients. The influence of age at onset and negative symptoms.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Decreased interleukin-2 (IL-2) production is characteristic of active autoimmune diseases and has previously been reported in patients with schizophrenia. We attempted to replicate this finding in never-medicated schizophrenic patients and examine the possible correlation between IL-2 production and clinical variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  The production of IL-2 was measured in equal numbers (N = 33) of DSM-III-R-diagnosed schizophrenic patients and controls who were matched for age, race, and gender. Patients were also assessed for positive, negative, and depressive symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The production of IL-2 was significantly lower in patients than in controls. There was a significant positive correlation between IL-2 production and age at onset, and significant negative correlation between IL-2 production and negative symptom scores. In multivariate analyses, the predictive power was stronger for age at onset than for negative symptoms. Positive or depressive symptoms were unrelated to IL-2 production.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our finding of low IL-2 production in neuroleptic-native schizophrenic patients confirms that this finding is not confounded by medications. The correlation of low IL-2 production with younger age at onset suggests that this may be a marker for a subtype of the illness or for severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ganguli
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Brar
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Chengappa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: DeLeo
authors.forename: Z W
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shurin
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Rabin
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D017668:Age of Onset; D015415:Biomarkers; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008934:Mitogens; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007376:Interleukin-2; D008934:Mitogens