A Short Note On Menopausal Women With Schizophrenia

Relationship of Interferon-ÃŽ ³ to Cognitive Function in Midlife and Post-Menopausal Women with Schizophrenia Draft of Paper Kathleen Wilson TITLE: Relationship of Interferon-ÃŽ ³ to Cognitive Function in Midlife and Post-Menopausal Women with Schizophrenia ABSTRACT: Recent literature suggests that schizophrenia is linked to an abnormal response of the immune system. Interferon- ÃŽ ³ is a cytokine that plays an important role in the regulation of the immune system and acts as a mediator between immune stimulation and the kynurenine pathway, which has also been a major area of interest in schizophrenia. Additionally, previous studies have shown that serum Interferon- ÃŽ ³ levels are related to cognitive abilities. The objectives of the present study are to determine if serum cytokines differ in midlife and peri/ post-menopausal women with schizophrenia compared to similarly matched healthy control women and to determine if serum cytokines are correlated with cognitive function differently in these groups. Fourteen midlife (30-70 year-old) female patients with DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 13 midlife healthy controls were analyzed for this study. Ten of the midlife patients and 8 of the midlife controls met the criteria for perimenopausal or post-menopausal reproductive stage, as defined by Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Cytokines were collected from serum blood draws and analyzed at the Cytokine Core Lab at University of Maryland,