A commonly prescribed antibiotic may help reduce the risk of developing schizophrenia in some young people, researchers have found.
A team of scientists from the University of Edinburgh made these findings by analyzing data from more than 56,000 young people attending mental health services in Finland who were prescribed antibiotics.
The results showed that people treated with the antibiotic doxycycline had a 30 to 35 percent lower risk of developing schizophrenia than those who received other antibiotics.
Doxycycline is a “broad-spectrum” antibiotic commonly used to treat infections and acne, and the team said this effect, which has been linked to schizophrenia, may be linked to its effects on inflammation and brain development.
Previous research has suggested that doxycycline may reduce inflammation in brain cells and affect synaptic pruning, a natural process by which the brain improves neural connections.
Excessive pruning has been linked to the development of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that usually appears in early adulthood and is often associated with hallucinations and delusional beliefs.
The team described the findings as “exciting” and said they highlight the potential for repurposing existing drugs that are widely used as preventative measures for severe mental illness.
Professor Ian Kelleher, lead researcher and Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Around half of people with schizophrenia have previously received child and adolescent mental health services for other mental health problems.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
NHS
Symptoms of schizophrenia include:
- Hallucinations – hearing or seeing things that do not exist outside the mind.
- Delusion – an unusual belief that has no basis in reality.
- Disorganized thoughts and speech based on hallucinations or delusions
- Loss of interest in daily activities
- Not wanting to take care of yourself and your needs, such as not caring about personal hygiene
- Wanting to avoid people, including friends
- Feeling disconnected from your feelings or emotions
“However, there are currently no interventions known to reduce the risk of developing schizophrenia in these young people.
“These findings are very exciting.
“Because this study is an observational study rather than a randomized controlled trial, we cannot make firm conclusions about causality, but this is an important signal to further investigate the protective effects of doxycycline and other anti-inflammatory treatments in adolescent psychiatric patients as a way to potentially reduce the risk of developing serious mental illness in adulthood.”
The study involved researchers from the University of Edinburgh, University of Oulu, University College Dublin and St John of God Hospitaller Services Group and was funded by the Health Research Board.
It was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
