Increased levels of serum basic fibroblast growth factor in schizophrenia

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a multifunctional growth factor that has been implicated in a variety of neurodevelopmental processes. The aim of the present study was to examine whether bFGF contributes to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Serum bFGF levels in 40 patients with schizophrenia (15 drug-naive and 25 medicated patients) and in 40 age- and sex-matched healthy normal controls were measured. Serum bFGF levels were significantly higher in the medicated patients than in the normal controls. Analysis of partial correlation coefficients showed that the increased bFGF levels might not be attributable to antipsychotic medication. Although there was no significant overall difference in bFGF levels between drug-naive patients and normal controls, the bFGF levels in these patients significantly correlated with the severity of negative symptoms. Furthermore, we found a significant negative correlation between serum bFGF levels and the age of onset in the entire patient group. Our finding of elevated bFGF levels in the serum of patients with schizophrenia, especially in earlier age-of-onset cases considered to have more neurodevelopmental insults, suggests that bFGF abnormalities may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.