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Only about 30% of individuals with defined prodromal syndromes develop full-blown schizophrenia. In this first-ever, three-stage approach, researchers identified a panel of biomarkers (ultimately refined to 22 serum-based proteins involved in various metabolic, inflammatory, and immune processes) capable of predicting subsequent schizophrenia. Some researchers are industry-employed.
In the first stage, biomarkers were identified that distinguished 331 first-episode, drug-naive patients with schizophrenia from controls. Second, the biomarkers were validated in two cohorts totaling 181 individuals (combined totals: schizophrenia patients, 93; controls 88).
Finally, the biomarkers were used to predict subsequent-onset schizophrenia in two other …