OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess serum Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) concentrations to determine whether changes in patients with schizophrenia could have etiopathogenetic importance. Since very little research has addressed the connection between the inflammatory marker TWEAK and schizophrenia, we wanted to examine alterations of TWEAK and investigate the possible correlation between clinical symptomatology and serum concentrations. METHODS A total of 45 schizophrenia patients and 40 healthy controls were included in this study. The Positive Symptom Assessment scale and the Negative Symptom Assessment scale were administered to determine symptom severity. Venous blood samples were collected and serum TWEAK levels were measured. RESULTS Serum TWEAK levels were significantly higher in the schizophrenia group than the control group, independently of potential confounders, including sex, age, body mass index and smoking status. CONCLUSION The results indicate that TWEAK is elevated in schizophrenia patients, which could deepen our understanding of the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

中文翻译：

---

血清肿瘤坏死因子样弱诱导细胞凋亡水平在精神分裂症中升高

目的 本研究的目的是评估血清肿瘤坏死因子样细胞凋亡弱诱导剂 (TWEAK) 的浓度，以确定精神分裂症患者的变化是否具有病因学重要性。由于很少有研究涉及炎症标志物 TWEAK 与精神分裂症之间的联系，我们想检查 TWEAK 的改变并研究临床症状与血清浓度之间可能的相关性。方法本研究共纳入45名精神分裂症患者和40名健康对照者。使用阳性症状评估量表和阴性症状评估量表来确定症状严重程度。收集静脉血样并测量血清 TWEAK 水平。结果 精神分裂症组的血清 TWEAK 水平显着高于对照组，独立于潜在的混杂因素，包括性别、年龄、体重指数和吸烟状况。结论结果表明，TWEAK在精神分裂症患者中升高，可以加深我们对炎症在精神分裂症发病机制中作用的理解。