SynthesisBiological psychiatry2011
Meta-analysis of cytokine alterations in schizophrenia: clinical status and antipsychotic effects.
Synthesis in Biological psychiatry, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 815 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
An Open-Label Trial of Tocilizumab in Schizophrenia
A Randomised Double Blind Placebo Controlled 12 Week Trial of Methotrexate Added to Treatment As Usual in Early Schizophrenia
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Adjunctive Siltuximab in Schizophrenia
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Adjunctive Tocilizumab in Schizophrenia
Who cites it
815 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,702 citations in OpenAlex.
- Inflammatory cytokine alterations in genetic and clinical high risk groups of psychosis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Pomgulated methionil (LY2140023) in schizophrenia patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Relationships Between Immune-Inflammatory Features and Social Cognitive Impairments in Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review.Brain and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- Allostatic load index across the psychosis spectrum: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- The Interrelationships between Cytokines and Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Psychotic relapse prediction via biomarker monitoring: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Predictors of successful anti-inflammatory drug trials in patients with schizophrenia: A meta-regression and critical commentary.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2023Pooled it
- Importance of the dysregulation of the kynurenine pathway on cognition in schizophrenia: a systematic review of clinical studies.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with psychotic disorders compared to healthy controls: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Brain Inflammatory Marker Abnormalities in Major Psychiatric Diseases: a Systematic Review of Postmortem Brain Studies.Molecular neurobiology · 2023Pooled it
- Is increased inflammation in schizophrenia associated with increased cardiovascular risk and the etiopathogenesis of this disorder?Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor - What are the clinical potentials in psychiatry?Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Review
- Plasma IL-17A, IFN-γ, and MIP-3α profiles are associated with clinical stage transition in first-episode psychosis.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Investigating changes in the blood-brain barrier in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: design and methodology of a longitudinal dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI study.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Sex-specific association of IDO1 gene with schizophrenia and imbalanced levels of cytokines and neuroactive kynurenine metabolites in relapsed patients.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Peripheral Inflammation In Adult ADHD: Sex Differences And Hematological Markers.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2026Article
- Digital and Biomarker-Based Monitoring for Schizophrenia-Treatment Adherence.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2026Review
- Schizophrenia: from mechanism to therapy.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Review
- Inflammation's complex role in first-episode psychoses.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Visceral Adiposity Is Associated with Elevated Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Levels and Anxiety Symptoms in Schizophrenia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
755 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSchizophrenia is associated with immune system dysfunction, including aberrant cytokine levels. We performed a meta-analysis of these associations, considering effects of clinical status and antipsychotic treatment following an acute illness exacerbation.
methodsWe identified articles by searching PubMed, PsychInfo, and Institute for Scientific Information and the reference lists of identified studies.
resultsForty studies met the inclusion criteria. Effect sizes were similar for studies of acutely relapsed inpatients (AR) and first-episode psychosis (FEP). Interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) appeared to be state markers, as they were increased in AR and FEP (p < .001 for each) and normalized with antipsychotic treatment (p < .001, p = .008, and p = .005, respectively). In contrast, IL-12, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) appeared to be trait markers, as levels remained elevated in acute exacerbations and following antipsychotic treatment. There was no difference in IL-6 levels between stable medicated outpatients and control subjects (p = .69). In the cerebrospinal fluid, IL-1β was significantly decreased in schizophrenia versus controls (p = .01).
conclusionsSimilar effect sizes in AR and FEP suggest that the association between cytokine abnormalities and acute exacerbations of schizophrenia is independent of antipsychotic medications. While some cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TGF-β) may be state markers for acute exacerbations, others (IL-12, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and sIL-2R) may be trait markers. Although these results could provide the basis for future hypothesis testing, most studies did not control for potential confounding factors such as body mass index and smoking.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.