Evidence suggest that low-grade inflammation is involved in severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but few studies have looked at which inflammatory markers are involved and how they relate to cognitive impairments.
Sæther and colleagues have conducted the largest study to date linking inflammatory and immune-related factors to cognitive functioning in people with and without severe mental illness. They found that variation in cognitive functioning, particularly processing speed, was explained by differences in inflammatory markers that regulate our innate immune system. Their findings point to potential inflammatory mechanisms that could influence the brain in a subgroup of individuals with severe mental illness.
The study has recently been published in Molecular Psychiatry, accompanied by a “behind the paper” blog post explaining the study and the findings in a popular scientific manner.
Reference
- Sæther et el., (2022) Inflammation and cognition in severe mental illness: patterns of covariation and subgroups, Molecular Psychiatry.
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