Low serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and epidermal growth factor in patients with chronic schizophrenia

Neurotrophic factors (NFs) play a pivotal role in the development of the central nervous system. They are thus also suspected of being involved in the etiology of schizophrenia. Previous studies reported a decreased level of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in schizophrenia, whereas the association of epidermal growth factor (EGF) with this illness remains controversial. Using a two-site enzyme immunoassay, we conducted the simultaneous measurement of serum BDNF and EGF levels in a group of patients with chronic schizophrenia (N = 74) and a group of normal controls matched in age, body mass index, smoking habit and sex (N = 87). We found that, compared to normal controls, patients with chronic schizophrenia exhibited lower serum levels of both BDNF and EGF across all ages examined (21–59 years). The serum levels of BDNF and EGF were negatively correlated in the controls (r = − 0.387, P = 0.0002) but not in the patients. Clinical parameters such as duration of illness and psychiatric rating scale also showed no robust correlations with the NF levels. Collectively, these results suggest that pervasive, abnormal signaling of NFs underlies the pathophysiology of chronic schizophrenia.