ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The present study is to investigate inflammatory markers and associated clinical factors between treatment resistant schizophrenia and non-treatment resistant schizophrenia.METHODS: Of the 116 schizophrenia subjects who were hospitalized for ac ute symptomatic treatment, 19 patients (16%) were treated with clozapine as a treatment resistant schizophrenia(TRS) and 97 patients(84%) were treated with other atypical antipsychotics as a non-treatment resistant schizophrenia(Non-TRS). Various inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein(CRP) and clinical factors were retrospectively evaluated with electrical medical records.RESULTS: There were significant differences between two groups in disease duration(p =0.015), number of admission (p =0.003), Clinical Global Impression(p <0.001) but other demographic and clinical variables including previous antipsychotics use did not show significant differences. In terms of hematologic profiles, TRS group demonstrated higher CRP level(p =0.006), lower neutrophil count(p =0.012), and lower hemoglobin level(p =0.003) compared with non-TRS group. Body mass index was significantly correlated with CRP(r=0.318, p =0.001).CONCLUSION: The elevated level of serum CRP in TRS suggests that treatment resistance in schizophrenia may be associated with inflammatory response. However, retrospective study design and small number of subjects could limit this interpretation.