Khaberni - Researchers have revealed that a commonly used antibiotic, doxycycline, may reduce the risk of some young people developing schizophrenia in adulthood.
During a recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, led by a team from the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with the universities of Oulu and Dublin, data from more than 56,000 adolescents who received care in mental health services and were prescribed antibiotics were analyzed. The researchers found that young people who received doxycycline were 30-35% less likely to develop schizophrenia compared to those who used other antibiotics.
The researchers suggest that these findings open the door to potentially using an existing drug as a preventive measure for severe mental illnesses. It is known that schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that typically appears in early adulthood and is associated with hallucinations and delusional thoughts.
The researchers believe that the protective effect may be related to doxycycline's impact on inflammation and brain development. The antibiotic is known for its ability to reduce inflammation in nerve cells, and it may affect the process of synaptic pruning in the brain, a natural process for clearing excess neural connections, which has been linked to the development of schizophrenia.
Professor Ian Kelleher, the study leader and professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, explained that about half of those with schizophrenia had previously received mental health services for young people for other reasons, and that there are currently no confirmed interventions that reduce the risk of developing schizophrenia in these young people.
He added: "The study was observational and not a randomized trial, so we can't confirm cause and effect, but it's an important signal that calls for further research into the potential benefits of doxycycline and anti-inflammatory treatments in reducing the risk of severe mental disorders in the future."
These results represent a promising step towards the potential development of preventive strategies for mental illnesses, especially in early adolescence, and highlight the importance of research into reusing known drugs to reduce future mental health risks.
