Table 6.
Meta-analyses examining treatment effects.
| Author | Population | Measure | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capuzzi et al. (2017) |
Medication-naïve FEP | Cytokines levels following 4 weeks of antipsychotic treatment | Among medication-naïve FEP patients, levels of IL-2 (k = 2, SMD = -0.47 (95% CI: −0.87 to −0.07) p = 0.023) and IL-6 (k = 4, SMD = -0.51 (95% CI: −0.92 to −0.11) p = 0.012) were significantly reduced following 4 weeks of antipsychotic treatment. No differences observed in levels of IL-1β (k = 4, SMD = -0.19 (95% CI: -0.66 to 0.28) p = 0.437), IL-I7 (k = 2, SMD = -0.57 (95% CI: -1.22 to 0.09) p = 0.088), IFN-γ (k = 2, SMD = -0.42 (95% CI: -0.87 to 0.03) p = 0.068) or TNF-α (k = 4, SMD = 0.03 (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.22) p = 0.745) were observed. |
| Jeppesen et al. (2020) | Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders | Response to immuno-modulating medications | Treatment with antipsychotics and anti-inflammatory treatment was associated with a significant improvement in total psychopathology (k = 55, SMD = -0.29 (95% CI: -0.40 to -0.19) p < 0.001), positive psychotic symptoms (k = 56, SMD = -0.13 (95% CI: -0.21 to -0.05) p = 0.002), negative symptoms (k = 55, SMD = -0.23 (95% CI: -0.35 to -0.12) p < 0.001), general psychopathology (k = 44, SMD =-0.16 (95% CI: -0.26 to -0.06) p = 0.002), and symptom severity (k = 13, SMD =-0.22 (95% CI: -0.40 to -0.03) p = 0.024) compared to antipsychotic medication and placebo, but was not associated with a significant improvement in functioning (k = 7, SMD =0.14 (95% CI: -0.13 to 0.42) p = 0.312). |
| Lombardo et al. (2019) | Mood disorders (major depression with and without psychotic features and bipolar) | Baseline cortisol levels and response to anti-glucocorticoid treatment | In combined analysis of antiglucocorticoid treatments combined, treatment responders showed no differences in baseline cortisol levels compared to non-responders (k = 16, SMD=−0.025 (95% CI: −0.173 to 0.124), p = 0.747). In sub-analyses examining cortisol synthesis inhibitors, responders showed significantly higher peripheral baseline cortisol levels compared with non-responders (k = 4, SMD=0.421 (95% CI: 0.010, 0.833), p = 0.045). In sub-analyses examining GR antagonists, no differences in cortisol levels were observed in comparisons between responders and non-responders (k = 12, SMD= −0.092 (95% CI: −0.251, 0.068) p = 0.261). |
| Minichino et al. (2021) | Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders | Response to gut-microbiome targeted interventions | Compared to placebo, adjunctive treatment with sodium benzoate was associated with significant improvement in negative symptoms (k = 2, SMD = −0.63 (95% CI: −1.03 to −0.23) p < 0.001), positive symptoms (k = 2, SMD = −0.94 (95%CI −1.35 to −0.53) p < 0.001)), and total symptoms (k = 2, SMD = −0.68 (95% CI: −1.08 to −0.28) p = 0.001). Analyses for negative symptoms showed that neither D-cycloserine (k = 10, SMD = −0.16 (95% CI: −0.40 to 0.08) p = 0 .20) nor minocycline (k = 7, SMD = −0.35 (95% CI −0.70 to 0.00) p = 0.05) were not significantly superior to placebo. |
Abbreviations: FEP: first-episode psychosis; k: number of effect sizes included in analysis; SMD: standardised mean difference; CI: confidence interval; CRP: C-reactive protein; IL: interleukin; IFN: interferon; TNF: tumour necrosis factor; GR: glucocorticoid receptor.