Activity of BDNF and MMP-9 in Structural Synaptic Modulation in Patients with Schizophrenia Undergoing Rehabilitation

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in two groups of schizophrenic patients receiving rehabilitation and to find out whether there existed relationships between the levels of these biomarkers and the severity of psychopathological symptoms, changes in event-related potentials (ERP), and quantitative EEG parameters. The study involved two groups of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in remission who participated in a 12-week conventional rehabilitation program (Group 1) or Biofeedback training (Group 2). The following parameters were assessed: BDNF levels, MMP-9 levels, ERP, QEEG, and psychopathological symptoms (PANSS). (1) The magnitude of changes in the investigated parameters was similar in both groups. (2) Comparable therapy outcomes were obtained for all the dependent variables except for BDNF, whose levels were higher in the GSR-BF patients. GSR Biofeedback can be used as a new alternative to conventional rehabilitation. BDNF can be used as a target in the evaluation of the effectiveness of various rehabilitation modalities, in contrast to MMP-9, which, despite its role in neuromodulation, cannot be treated as a marker of treatment outcomes.