Immunological Biomarkers as Predictors of Treatment Response in Psychotic Disorders

Abstract

Psychotic disorders, notably schizophrenia, impose a detrimental burden on both an individual and a societal level. The mechanisms leading to psychotic disorders are multifaceted, with genetics and environmental factors playing major roles. Increasing evidence additionally implicates neuro-inflammatory processes within at least a subgroup of patients with psychosis. While numerous studies have investigated anti-inflammatory add-on treatments to current antipsychotics, the exploration of immunological biomarkers as a predictor of treatment response remains limited. This review outlines the current evidence from trials exploring the potential of baseline inflammatory biomarkers as predictors of the treatment effect of anti-inflammatory drugs as add-ons to antipsychotics and of antipsychotics alone. Several of the studies have found correlations between baseline immunological biomarkers and treatment response; however, only a few studies incorporated baseline biomarkers as a primary endpoint, and the findings thus need to be interpreted with caution. Our review emphasizes the need for additional research on the potential of repurposing anti-inflammatory drugs while utilizing baseline inflammatory biomarkers as a predictor of treatment response and to identify subgroups of individuals with psychotic disorders where add-on treatment with immunomodulating agents would be warranted. Future studies investigating the correlation between baseline inflammatory markers and treatment responses can pave the way for personalized medicine approaches in psychiatry centred around biomarkers such as specific baseline inflammatory biomarkers in psychotic disorders.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory drugs; immunology; personalized medicine; psychosis; schizophrenia.