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A widely prescribed antibiotic may help lower the chances of certain young people developing schizophrenia, according to new research. An international research group, including experts from the University of Edinburgh, made the breakthrough by examining extensive healthcare records from Finland. The researchers analysed information from more than 56,000 teenagers receiving mental health treatment who had been given antibiotics. Their findings showed that those treated with the antibiotic doxycycline had a 30-35 per cent reduced risk of developing schizophrenia compared with those who received different antibiotics. READ MORE: Doxycycline is a "broad-spectrum" antibiotic frequently prescribed for infections and acne, with researchers suggesting its protective effect against schizophrenia may be connected to how it affects inflammation and brain maturation. Earlier research indicates that doxycycline can reduce inflammation in brain cells and affect 'synaptic pruning' – a natural mechanism through which the brain streamlines its neural pathways. Excessive 'pruning' has been linked to schizophrenia development, a serious mental disorder that usually appears in early adulthood and is frequently characterised by hallucinations and delusional beliefs. The researchers described the results as "exciting", noting they demonstrate the possibility of repurposing an established, commonly prescribed medication as a preventative treatment for serious mental illness. Professor Ian Kelleher, the study lead and professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, stated: "As many as half of the people who develop schizophrenia had previously attended child and adolescent mental health services for other mental health problems. "At present, though, we don't have any interventions that are known to reduce the risk of going on to develop schizophrenia in these young people. That makes these findings exciting. "Because the study was observational in nature and not a randomised controlled trial, it means we can't draw firm conclusions on causality, but this is an important signal to further investigate the protective effect of doxycycline and other anti-inflammatory treatments in adolescent psychiatry patients as a way to potentially reduce the risk of developing severe mental illness in adulthood." The research was conducted by a team from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oulu, University College Dublin, and St John of God Hospitaller Services Group, with funding provided by the Health Research Board. The findings have been published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
