Schizophrenia risk significantly increases alongside cannabis use, with cannabis use disorder affecting up to 42% of individuals with schizophrenia. In the current study, researchers sought to understand more about the biological mechanisms underpinning why some individuals develop schizophrenia while others only experience cannabis use disorder despite similar levels of exposure to cannabis.
To do so, they compared the fatty acids present in blood samples taken from four groups: one group with schizophrenia who did not use cannabis, one group who used cannabis and developed cannabis use disorder, a group with both schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder, and a control group that neither had a psychiatric disorder nor used drugs.
By comparing quantities of certain fatty acids taken from the blood samples, the researchers were able to ‘perfectly differentiate’ between the three patient populations, noted study author Leyre Urigüen, senior researcher at the University of the Basque Country, in a press release.
Among patients with cannabis use disorder, schizophrenia, and dual diagnosis, the researchers noted a strong downregulation in N-acyl amino acids- especially N-palmitoyl threonine and N-palmitoyl serine. They additionally noted elevated levels of 7-dehydrodesmosterol in patients with schizophrenia or a dual diagnosis compared to controls.
The findings indicate ‘that there is an altered or different metabolism between these three groups’ and that the molecules ‘could potentially be biomarkers’, added Urigüen.
“I think it is important to be capable of finding blood biomarkers that can help predict the risk of developing a psychiatric disorder, such as schizophrenia due to cannabis use, and this study has proven to be the start of this way forward. Now this has to be disproved by studies with a larger cohort of people than the one we have analysed,” she added.
Sources: EurekAlert, Scientific Reports
