Adjunctive use of interferon γ inducer for treatment of patients with schizophrenia.

Objective The present paper is devoted to evaluation of clinical and immunomodulatory effect of ultra-high dilutions of antibodies to human interferon γ, included in the complex therapy of patients with schizophrenia. Materials and methods The study was carried out at the Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk, Russian Federation. This double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised in parallel-group study enrolled 40 patients. As a part of complex therapy, patients from the main group ( n =20) received anaferon, a drug containing ultra-high dilutions of affinity-purified antibodies to human interferon γ as the active pharmaceutical ingredient; patients from the comparative group ( n =20) received placebo. Duration of the therapy was 30±5 days. Assessment of severity of symptoms and changes in them were made using clinical scales: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Clinical Global Impression, Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale. Spontaneous and phytohemagglutinin-induced production of interferon γ by immunocompetent cells in supernatants of 48 h whole blood culture of patients was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results The reduction of interferon-producing potential by immunocompetent cells in comparison with reference normal value was shown in total group of patients ( n =40) before combined therapy. During the treatment, increase of spontaneous interferon γ production and favourable changes in psychopathological symptoms as compared with placebo were shown in subjects receiving anaferon. It was found that favourable changes in clinical symptoms assessed using clinical scales with a high degree of confidence correlated with high level of spontaneous interferon γ production. Conclusion Anaferon as a part of complex therapy of patients with schizophrenia contributes to enhancement of its efficacy acting via mechanism of psychoimmunomodulation.