Background 

There is some evidence of a relationship between inflammation and the development of different psychiatric disorders. Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a marker present in both blood plasma and serum, which reflects chronic or more long-term inflammation. Here, we report that levels of this novel marker, suPAR, are elevated in people with psychiatric disorders.

Research  

Our aim was to compare studies that measured suPAR concentrations in individuals with a psychiatric disorder to see if the levels are different in comparison to those in healthy individuals.

Potential Impact 

In contrast to other reviews which looked at often-reported markers of inflammation such as C-Reactive Protein and Interleukin-6, this is the first systematic review to show elevated levels of suPAR in people with depressive disorder and schizophrenia when measured in blood plasma, but not in serum. The findings support the idea that chronic inflammation plays a role in the development of some psychiatric disorders and encourage the use of suPAR as a marker of inflammation in future research.