Immune‐mediated inflammatory markers in acute and transient psychotic disorders—comparison with schizophrenia: An exploratory comparative study

Aim Considering Acute and Transient psychotic disorders (ATPDs) to be a close entity to Schizophrenia (SZ) with a completely different course and outcome, studies evaluating the immunological abnormalities are scarce in ATPDs. We analysed immune‐mediated inflammatory marker levels [Interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), Interleukin‐4 (IL‐4), Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), Interleukin‐8 (IL‐8), Interleukin‐17 (IL‐17) and Tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α)] in patients with ATPDs (in the acute phase and after remission), and compared these with patients with SZ in remission and with healthy controls. Methods Ninteen subjects with ATPDs in acute phase of illness were age−/gender‐matched with healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia in remission; recruited through purposive sampling. Clinical assessment and immune‐marker levels were carried out in all the three groups. Follow –up repeat immune‐marker levels assessment in the ATPD group was conducted after remission status was ensured. Immune‐marker levels were compared across the three groups. Results Patients with ATPDs had elevated levels of the pro‐inflammatory cytokines IL‐6 and IL‐17 and low levels of IL‐8 in the acute phase and low levels of IL‐6 and elevated levels of IL‐8 during the remission phase. Compared to patients with SZ in remission, patients with ATPD in remission had low levels of all the three pro‐inflammatory cytokines (with significantly low IL‐6 levels and non‐significant, yet low levels of IL‐8 and IL‐17) and had significantly low and high levels of IL‐6 and IL‐8 respectively than healthy controls. Conclusion These findings suggest that there existed immunological abnormalities in the acute and remission phase of illness in patients with ATPDs compared to both patients with SZ in remission and healthy controls.