The Inflammatory Signals Associated with Psychosis: Impact of Comorbid Drug Abuse

Abstract

Psychosis and substance use disorders are two diagnostic categories whose association has been studied for decades. In addition, both psychosis spectrum disorders and drug abuse have recently been linked to multiple pro-inflammatory changes in the central nervous system. We have carried out a narrative review of the literature through a holistic approach. We used PubMed as our search engine. We included in the review all relevant studies looking at pro-inflammatory changes in psychotic disorders and substance use disorders. We found that there are multiple studies that relate various pro-inflammatory lipids and proteins with psychosis and substance use disorders, with an overlap between the two. The main findings involve inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, chemokines, endocannabinoids, eicosanoids, lysophospholipds and/or bacterial products. Many of these findings are present in different phases of psychosis and in substance use disorders such as cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamines, alcohol and nicotine. Psychosis and substance use disorders may have a common origin in an abnormal neurodevelopment caused, among other factors, by a neuroinflammatory process. A possible convergent pathway is that which interrelates the transcriptional factors NFκB and PPARγ. This may have future clinical implications.

Antidepressant Medication Does Not Contribute to the Elevated Circulating Concentrations of Acylethanolamides Found in Substance Use Disorder Patients

“…The prescription of neuroleptics as antipsychotic medication might result in enhanced release of NAEs, eventually contributing to improving disease-associated symptoms and eventually helping to achieve healing, if therapeutic success is eventually achieved. This finding could also support a recent neurobiological model that we have proposed for psychosis and drug abuse, suggesting a common origin for both through dysregulation of pro/anti-inflammatory pathways where Ecs (and their regulation by antipsychotics) plays an important role [30].…”

The Modulated Role of Toxoplasma gondii on Eosinophils in Psychiatric Disorders after Cannabis Cessation

“…Substance use disorders have an impact on inflammatory markers [23]. Some studies suggested that cannabis use was associated with lower inflammation in patients with psychiatric disorders (IL-6, IFN g and CRP) [24][25][26] However, these suggestions were made with inconsistant data [27,28].…”

The Modulated Role of Toxoplasma Gondii on Eosinophils in Psychiatric Disorders after Cannabis Cessation

“…Substance use disorders have an impact on inflammatory markers [12]. Some studies suggested that cannabis use was associated with lower inflammation in patients with psychiatric disorders (IL-6, IFN-G and CRP) [13][14][15] however with inconsistant data [16,17].…”