Evidence for cytokine dysregulation in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A comparison of cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples.

Abnormalities in immune function have been described in schizophrenia but few studies have investigated cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and their correlation with blood levels. In this cross-sectional study, cytokines were measured in CSF and plasma of 30 subjects with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) diagnosis and 23 healthy volunteers (HV). Results showed that CSF TNFα was increased in SSD subjects compared to HV and there were no correlations between CSF and plasma cytokine levels. The present findings provide evidence of dysregulation of TNFα in CSF of schizophrenia. These results identify elevated CSF TNFα levels as a potential biomarker in schizophrenia.