Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Jun 2024)
Abnormal Serum Biochemical Results and Mitochondrial Damage of Lymphocytes in Patients with Schizophrenia and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Retrospective Study
Abstract
Qiao Zhang,1,* Lei Shi,1,* Yanping Lin,2,* Huirong Dai,1 Yixuan Bai,1 Pan You1 1Xiamen Xianyue Hospital, Xianyue Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen Medical College, Fujian Psychiatric Center, Fujian Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Xiamen, Fujian, 361012, People’s Republic of China; 2The Third Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen, Fujian, 361100, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Pan You, Xiamen Xianyue Hospital, Xianyue Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen Medical College, Fujian Psychiatric Center, Fujian Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Xiamen, Fujian, 361012, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86-592-5392620, Email [email protected]: In this study, we investigated the differences in clinical biochemical values and mitochondrial mass between schizophrenia patients with and without COVID-19, so as to provide assistance to the treatment and management of COVID-19 positive patients with schizophrenia.Patients and methods: We undertook an exploratory, retrospective review of patient data from Dec. 6, 2022, to Jan. 31, 2023. A total of 1696 inpatients with psychosis (921 schizophrenia patients and 775 diagnosed with other mental diseases) during this period were identified. Finally, 60 schizophrenia patients were enrolled in our study, and 20 of them were infected with syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The serum biochemical levels and single-cell mitochondrial mass (SCMM) of the T lymphocytes of all schizophrenia patients were analyzed.Results: The serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine (Cr) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were significantly higher in schizophrenia patients with COVID-19 (SCZ-C) group. In addition, the SCZ-C group showed lower CD3+, CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ cell counts and higher SCMM of T lymphocytes compared to SCZ group. Furthermore, positive correlations were found between the T-cell subpopulation counts and positive symptom scores on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).Conclusion: Our study findings showed that schizophrenia patients with COVID-19 have a phenotype of mitochondrial damage in T lymphocytes and higher serum levels of AST, ALP, Cr and LDH, which might provide evidence for treating individuals with schizophrenia during subsequent spread of infectious disease.Keywords: biochemical characteristics, lymphocyte, mitochondrial damage, COVID-19, schizophrenia
