Effect of Adjuvant Vitamin C on Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels and Improvement of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenic Patients

AIM: This study aims to determine the effect of adjuvant Vitamin C on brain-derived neurotropic factors (BDNF) levels and improvement of negative symptoms in schizophrenic patients.
METHODS: This study was conducted at Hasanuddin University Hospital and its affiliate with 60 schizophrenic patients (30 controls, 27 treatments, and three dropout patients). The ELISA sample examination method was used to examine blood levels of BDNF, and Vitamin C levels before and after administration of Vitamin C. In addition, the negative symptoms were measured using the PANSS score.
RESULTS: There was a significant increase in BDNF levels in treatments group compared the control at 4th–8th weeks with p = 0.005 (4th week) and ≤0.0001 (<0.05) (8th week). The improvement in PANSS scores for negative symptoms in the treatment groups compared to the controls at the 2nd, 4th, and 8th weeks resulted in p = 0.042 (2nd week) and <0.0001 (4th–8th weeks). Furthermore, there was an increase in serum Vitamin C levels in the treatment groups with an initial average value = 4.762 and after 8 weeks = 148.155. Strong correlation between increased BDNF levels and improvement in negative symptoms on the PANSS score was found with p = 0.001 (4th week) and ≤0.0001 (8th week).
CONCLUSION: The administration of Vitamin C significantly increases BDNF levels and improves the PANSS score for negative symptoms in the treatments compared to the control groups.