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Background: Schizophrenia is a complex disorder involving multiple genes with mild to moderate effects and non-genetic risk factors such as environmental and psychological influences that alter brain chemistry. Significant reduction in interleukin-2 production by peripheral lymphocytes is an immunological finding replicated in schizophrenia across various countries. Investigations on the interleukin-2 -330 T/G polymorphism in people with schizophrenia (PWS) are still minimal, and the study location involves only a few countries with different results. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of interleukin-2 -330 T/G polymorphisms in people with schizophrenia among the Batak and Javanese ethnic groups in Indonesia, particularly in North Sumatra., Method: This study used purposive non-probability sampling to recruit people with schizophrenia with 120 Batak and 120 Javanese subjects who were hospitalized at Prof. M. Ildrem Mental Hospital, Medan, Indonesia. The interleukin-2 -330 T/G polymorphism was examined by the PCR method., Result: The results showed that the genotype frequency of the Batak people with schizophrenia is as follows: GG 11.7%, TG 53.3% and TT 35%. Furthermore, the group of Javanese people with schizophrenia is as follows: GG 23.3%, TG 44.2% and TT 32.5%. The OR for the genotypic comparison of GG was found to be 2.154 with 95% CI 0.992-4.678, p=0.053, while that of the TG genotype was 0.892 with 95% CI 0.505-1.574 and p=0.693. The T allele was higher than the G allele in Batak and Javanese ethnic groups, as demonstrated by p=0.713, OR=0.919 with 95% CI 0.641-1.318., Conclusion: There is no statistically significant difference between the occurrence frequency of alleles. In addition, there is no significant relationship between the GG and the TG genotype of the interleukin-2 - 330T/G polymorphism in people with schizophrenia among the Batak and the Javanese ethnic groups., (© 2023 Mustafa M. Amin, Muhammad Surya Husada, Sri Idaiani, Elmeida Effendy, Syaifuddin Nasution, Sutan Dassep Purnama.)

Aim Schizophrenia is a mental disorder and one of the suspected causes is cytokines. One of them is tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Cytokines have the potential to affect cognitive function. The study aimed to find a correlation of TNF-α level with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score in patients with schizophrenia (PwS), and comparing the level of TNF-α levels between PwS and healthy controls. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analytic study and the study designs were correlation and comparative analysis, i.e. using a Mann-Whitney U test. A total number of 100 subjects were collected, and they were divided into two groups of PwS and control group, respectively. Results The results found that most of the PwS subjects were 39 men (78.0%), while the control group were 28 men (56.%). The differences in TNF-α levels between PwS and control groups were found to be significant p<0.001, there was no significant correlation between TNF-α level and the score of MMSE of the PwS with p = 0.938, with a very weak correlation that was r = -0.011, and a negative correlation direction. Conclusion There was a significant difference between TNF-α level of PwS and control group, i.e. PwS group had lower TNF-α level compared to the control group. The TNF-α level of PwS group had a very weak effect on the cause of cognitive dysfunction in PwS group, yet the higher level of it could reduce MMSE score in PwS group., (Copyright© by the Medical Assotiation of Zenica-Doboj Canton.)

Background: Negative symptoms have long been conceptualized as a core aspect of schizophrenia. Despite widespread recognition of the status of these symptoms as independent dimensions of schizophrenia, they are sometimes difficult to distinguish from depression or cognitive impairment. Therefore, objective assessment of schizophrenia symptoms is critical by obtaining a valid and reliable Indonesian version of the SANS instrument. This study aimed to determine the content validity, concurrent, internal consistency reliability, inter-rater, cut-off value, sensitivity, and specificity of the SANS instrument. Methods: This is a diagnostic study using the cross-sectional method to determine the relationship between the SANS and PANSS instruments on the negative symptom subscale. It was located at the Prof. Dr. M. Ildrem Mental Hospital of North Sumatera Province. Results: Of the 400 subjects, 67.5% were males, and the median age of the subjects was 37 years (18-45). The results of the content validity test were good (mean l-CVI=1.00), and the concurrent validity test comparing the SANS and PANSS instruments on the negative symptom subscale obtained significant results (p < 0.001) with a strong correlation (r = 0.763). Additionally, the consistency reliability test had a very high internal score (Cronbach alpha = 0.969), the overall inter-rater reliability test was "very good" (ICC = 0.985), and the cut-off value was 10.5 with sensitivity and specificity values of 72.9 and 77.9%, respectively. Conclusion: The Indonesian version of the SANS instrument is valid and reliable for measuring negative symptoms in people with schizophrenia in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the first quarter of 2020, two cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported in Indonesia, approximately 4 months after the first case was reported in China. The numbers continued to increase following the introduction of many variants of the virus. The pandemic may have an impact on the community's mental health, particularly on those with mental illnesses. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the correlation between schizophrenia and COVID-19 based on demographic characteristics. Methods: This nominal-nominal and numerical-nominal correlative analytical study used a cross-sectional approach and was conducted at a psychiatric hospital in North Sumatra. The sample population consisted of 48 patients and 48 healthy controls, who were selected using a non-probability consecutive sampling method. Results: The analysis showed that there were correlations between schizophrenia and COVID-19 (r = 0.417, p < 0.001) and between the age of patients with schizophrenia and COVID-19 with (r = 0.544). Conclusions: COVID-19 is correlated with schizophrenia and the age of patients with schizophrenia. We recommend that patients with schizophrenia follow the same health guidelines as the clinical high-risk group for COVID-19 and receive the same treatment. Physicians that treat patients with COVID-19 should pay close attention to those with schizophrenia because they may underestimate their condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]