Background
Accumulating evidence suggests that serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in many neurobiological processes potentially contributes to the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, particularly cognitive decline. The
Conclusion
Compared to HC, RS demonstrated poorer neurocognitive but intact social cognition functioning. These results indicate that VEGF levels decreased gradually with the severity of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. VEGF may be involved in the pathological mechanism of cognitive performance in RS.
Results
On nearly all neurocognitive tests (except for DST), RS performed significantly worse than HC but better than NRS (P < 0.05). NRS, but not RS, exhibited markedly poorer social cognition than HC (except for Happiness and Surprise subscales of the CFET) (P < 0.05). VEGF levels showed a gradient change among three groups (HC > RS > NRS).