Oxidative Stress Index and Peripheral Biomarkers for Schizophrenia: A Revisited Approach. 

Abstract Aims: Mental health issuesremain challenging due to the current diagnostic criteria based on traditional approaches. Misdiagnosis in Schizophrenia is common for various reasons, including inconsistent knowledge about the patient's history, unstable and overlapping symptoms, and lack of experienced professionals. Oxidative stress or redox dysregulation and inflammation implicate behavioral alterations in Schizophrenia. This study aims to evaluate the role of peripheral biomarkers, particularly oxidants/antioxidants, and inflammatory markers, and their potential correlations with oxidative stress index (OSI) in Schizophrenia. Methods: Multiple approaches were considered to measure serum lipid profile, leukocyte indices, C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Inflammatory markers, Paraoxonase 1 (PON1), total antioxidant/oxidant status (TAS/TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) in both schizophrenic patients and healthy individuals (n=50 each group) by using standardized statistical methods. Results: Our results further validate the involvement of oxidative stress in Schizophrenia and suggest the applicability of the oxidative stress index as a biomarker with restraint, potentially yielding a more accurate diagnosis of Schizophrenia. Conclusion: Oxidative stress and inflammation play complementary roles, especially in Schizophrenia. The oxidative stress index may be a potential tool for more accurately diagnosing Schizophrenia and other related parameters. Further studies must confirm these findings, particularly future research with a larger sample size.