Correlation Between Plasma MiR-124 And Cognitive Function In Patients With Schizophrenia

Objectives:To investigate the differences of miR-124 expressed in plasma between the patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls;to analyze the correlation between plasma miR-124 expression level and the severity of illness and cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia;to explore whether miR-124 can be used as a biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for schizophrenia and also can provide a basis for future clinical diagnosis,treatment and prognosis evaluation.Methods:In this study,50 schizophrenia patients and 50 healthy controls were recruited and peripheral blood was sampled to detect the expression of miR-124 by RT=qPCR.The digital function test(DST)was used to evaluate memory function in all cases when the patients were stable within one week of admission;the patients’ visual space impairment was assessed by the Symbolic Digital Mode Test(SDMT);The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST)was applied to assay the patients’ impaired performance;the Word Fluency Test(WFT)was used to assay the impairment of a patients’language function.The severity of psychotic symptoms was assessed by measuring the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS)scale score.The data obtained after the evaluation was analyzed by SPSS 22.0.Results:1.Compared with the healthy control,the relative expression level of plasma miR-124 was significantly decreased in patients with schizophrenia(P=0.002).2.The relative expression level of plasma miR-124 in patients with schizophrenia was negatively correlated with negative score(r=-0.322,P=0.023).3.The relative expression level of plasma miR-124 in patients with schizophrenia was negatively correlated with the digital symbol pattern test score in the repetitive set of neuropsychological status tests(r=-0.355,P=0.011),4.The relative expression level of plasma miR-124 in patients with schizophrenia was negatively correlated with the number of responses required to complete the first classification in the WCST test(r=-0.340,P=0.016)and non-persistent errors(r=-0.371,P=0.008).Conclusion:1.MiR-124 may be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and may be associated with negative symptoms of schizophrenia.And miR-124 in peripheral blood may be a biomarker for schizophrenia..2.There is a correlation between the expression level of plasma miR-124 in patients with schizophrenia and cognitive tests.It is speculated that cognitive impairment of schizophrenia may be related to the expression level of miR-124.