ArticleIndustrial psychiatry journal
Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on serum brain derived neurotrophic factor, serum interleukin-6, and serum cortisol levels in patients with treatment refractory schizophrenia.
Article in Industrial psychiatry journal. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Neurotrophins and Galectin-3: Hidden Keys in Neuroinflammation-A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Electroconvulsive therapy research in India: A scoping review.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by cognitive dysfunction and persistent psychotic symptoms. Treatment refractory schizophrenia (TRS), resistant to conventional antipsychotics, presents significant challenges. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective for TRS, but its biological mechanisms remain unclear. Biomarkers such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and cortisol, linked to neuroplasticity, immune modulation, and stress regulation, may help elucidate ECT's therapeutic effects. Aim: This study evaluated the impact of ECT on serum levels of BDNF, IL-6, and cortisol in TRS patients and explored the relationship between these biomarkers and symptom improvement. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital from 2018 to 2020. Thirty-five TRS patients (aged 18-60 years) underwent symptom severity assessments using the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) pre- and post-ECT. Serum levels of BDNF, IL-6, and cortisol were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). ECT was administered bilaterally in 4-7 sessions per patient. Paired t-tests and Spearman's correlation were used for statistical analysis. Results: ECT significantly reduced positive ( Conclusion: ECT reduces symptom severity in TRS, with significant modulation of IL-6 and potential involvement of BDNF in positive symptom improvement. These findings highlight immune and neuroplastic pathways as mechanisms of ECT efficacy and suggest biomarkers for treatment response.
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