Researchers from the National Healthcare Group (NHG)’s Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have made strides in understanding the connection between the immune system and resistance to antipsychotic medications in schizophrenia, using changes in immune cell populations to predict potential treatment resistance and initiate the most appropriate treatment sooner. Their paper, “Immunophenotyping schizophrenia subtypes stratified by antipsychotic response”, published in leading psychoneuroimmunology journal Brain, Behaviour and Immunity adds to a growing body of research suggesting that immune system dysregulation may underlie the development of the mental disorder. The study was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Health through the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Office, MOH Holdings Pte Ltd under the NMRC Clinician Scientist Award (MOH-000013).
The exact cause of schizophrenia – a psychotic disorder affecting around 24 million people worldwide and 1 in 116 individuals in Singapore – remains unclear even today. While imbalances in dopamine levels in the brain are commonly observed in people with schizophrenia, not all patients with schizophrenia respond to standard antipsychotic drugs that target the dopamine pathway. In recent years, scientific studies on changes in the immune system and their association with the development of mental health conditions have emerged as a promising area of research.
Globally, around 30% of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia are treatment-resistant. This means they do not achieve remission of symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, despite treatment. This debilitating condition affects both individuals (who also experience difficulties with their cognitive or thinking skills and