Serum Neopterin and Haptoglobin Concentrations in Patients with First Episode Psychosis

Objectives: There is some evidence that acute episode of psychosis is characterized by immune alterations, but there are conflicting results about this issue. The aim of this study was to determine whether serum haptoglobin and neopterin concentrations in patients with first episode psychosis are different from those in control subjects.Methods: Forty-six male patients with first episode psychosis and 52 healthy subjects were included in this study. Psychotic symptoms were assessed by using the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). All patients were drug naive, and serum neopterin and haptoglobin concentrations were measured. Results: We found that in the first episode psychosis group, serum neopterin concentrations were higher than in the control group. However, there was no difference between the two groups in terms of serum haptoglobin concentrations. It was found that SANS, SAPS and BPRS scores were not associated with serum haptoglobin and neopterin concentrations in the patient group. Discussion: Our results show that cellular immune response was elevated in first episode psychosis, but these findings were not associated with the severity of the disease. (Arc-hi-ves of Neu-ropsy-chi-atry 2012; 49: 192-195)