Abnormal immunity and inflammation has been described in schizophrenia although methodological limitations and the complex causes of the illness are probably responsible of the lack of conclusive or well understood results. Indeed, the immune profile of schizophrenia has not yet been well characterised by state-of-the-art immune methods such as are becoming established in other areas of medicine.

Recent advances in immune profiling can provide a rich and mechanistically detailed profile of an individual’s immune system based on analysis of a peripheral venous blood sample. We will comprehensively assess a defined subgroup, actively psychotic patients with state-of-the-art methodology.

This study is supported by the CPFT,  NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and the MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural & Clinical Neuroscience Institute and will be carried out in subjects diagnosed with persistent schizophrenia  compared to matched healthy controls form the Cambridge Bioresource. The study has also been adopted by the CLRN / MHRN network 

Contact for further info: Dr. Emilio Fernandez-Egea / Prof. Ed Bullmore / Dr. Paul Lyons / Dr. Shaun Flint

REC approval 12/EE/0467