Anti-inflammatory treatments could help a specific subgroup of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, researchers have found.

Researchers from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW Sydney found that some people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have overactive inflammatory signals in a key dopamine area of the brain.

PhD candidate, Gerardo Mendez-Victoriano, said the finding highlighted the need for anti-inflammatory interventions targeting these receptors to test for therapeutic benefits in psychiatric patients displaying elevated inflammation.

“We looked at a part of the brain that creates dopamine, a molecule that affects motivation, mood and is affected in psychosis,” Mr Mendez-Victoriano said.

“In some people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, we found that certain inflammation signals were much higher than normal. These signals belong to a family of molecules called Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily related to strong immune reactions and cellular death in the brain.

“This finding means that inflammation might be actively contributing to symptoms. It suggests that anti-inflammatory treatments could help a specific subgroup of patients who have high inflammation.

“This moves us closer to more personalized treatment, rather than ​‘one treatment fits all’.”

The research findings were published as ​“Increased Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily Members in Neuroinflammatory Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder MidBrains” published in Biological Psychiatry.

“This research built on our understanding of neuroinflammation in these conditions,” Mr Mendez-Victoriano said.

“While we found significant levels of inflammation in the midbrains of people with schizophrenia, this overlapped somewhat with bipolar disorder.

“We now need to explore how we can safely calm down this inflammation and understand if doing that would improve symptoms. We also need to determine how to identify patients with this inflammatory profile while they’re alive.”

You can read the full report here.