Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and highly heterogeneous psychiatric disorder. Current antipsychotic medications show limited effectiveness in treating negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. Accumulating evidence suggests that dysfunction of inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons, leading to inhibitory circuit dysregulation, plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of the disorder. Recent advances in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and brain organoid technologies have provided more accurate human-based models of schizophrenia, offering new avenues to investigate the complex neurodevelopmental mechanism of schizophrenia and to explore cell replacement therapies. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that transplantation of specific types of GABAergic interneuron precursors into the brain can selectively improve negative symptoms and cognitive deficits in animal models, highlighting considerable translational potential. However, the transition from bench to bedside still faces multiple technical and ethical challenges, enhancing cell differentiation efficiency, ensuring long-term safety of transplanted cells, achieving precise control and functional integration of neuronal subtypes, understanding circuit-specific contributions to different symptom domains, and establishing rigorous ethical and regulatory frameworks. In summary, inhibitory GABAergic interneuron-based cell therapy provides a novel theoretical and perspective foundation for improving negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Despite significant challenges ahead, its prospects remain highly promising.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and highly heterogeneous psychiatric disorder. Current antipsychotic medications show limited effectiveness in treating negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. Accumulating evidence suggests that dysfunction of inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons, leading to inhibitory circuit dysregulation, plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of the disorder. Recent advances in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and brain organoid technologies have provided more accurate human-based models of schizophrenia, offering new avenues to investigate the complex neurodevelopmental mechanism of schizophrenia and to explore cell replacement therapies. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that transplantation of specific types of GABAergic interneuron precursors into the brain can selectively improve negative symptoms and cognitive deficits in animal models, highlighting considerable translational potential. However, the transition from bench to bedside still faces multiple technical and ethical challenges, enhancing cell differentiation efficiency, ensuring long-term safety of transplanted cells, achieving precise control and functional integration of neuronal subtypes, understanding circuit-specific contributions to different symptom domains, and establishing rigorous ethical and regulatory frameworks. In summary, inhibitory GABAergic interneuron-based cell therapy provides a novel theoretical and perspective foundation for improving negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Despite significant challenges ahead, its prospects remain highly promising.

BACKGROUND:Neural stem cel transplantation provides an important way to treat sequela of traumatic brain injury, but the timing for treatment is inconclusive.
OBJECTIVE:To explore the clinical effect of neural stem cel transplantation in the treatment of sequela of traumatic brain injury and the choice of the best treatment time.
METHODS: Totaly 178 patients with sequela of traumatic brain injury who underwent neural stem cel transplantation were divided into three groups as per the timing for neural stem cel transplantation: group A (with 6 months after injury,n=60), group B (6-12 months after injury,n=59), and group C (over 12 months after injury,n=59). Improvement in clinical symptoms and scores on function independent measure (FIM) were recorded and compared in the three groups.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The total effective rate of group A was significantly higher than that in groups B and C (P < 0.05). FIM scores were significantly improved in the three groups after cel transplantation (P < 0.05). At 3 months after the fourth transplantation, the FIM score in the group A was significantly higher than that in the other two groups, and the incidence of adverse reactions in the group A was significantly lower than that in the other two groups (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that neural stem cel transplantation at different timing can al harvest certain clinical effects, but the best timing for neural stem cel transplantation is within 6 months after injury.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the level of serum cortisol and alexithymia in depressive patients with somatic symptoms.Methods The morning level of serum cortisol was measured with radioimmunoassay in 30 depressive patients with somatic symptoms (somatization group) and 30 depressive patients without somatic symptoms (non-somatization group).The severity of alexithymia was evaluated with Toronto alexithymia Scale(TAS-20).Results (1) The level of serum cortisol in somatization group was significantly higher than that in non-somatization group((533.88±144.10) μmol/L vs (458.27±82.87) μmol/L,P＜0.01).(2) The total TAS score and the factor score of Difficulty in identifying feelings and Difficulty in describing feelings in somatization group were obviously higher than those in non-somatization group,respectively ((67.13 ± 6.96) vs (62.03±7.14),(24.50±3.78) vs (21.63±3.63),(15.30±2.69) vs (13.57±2.03),all P＜0.01).(3) The level of serum cortisol in somatization group was positively correlated with the total score of alexithymia (r=0.596,P＜0.01) and the factor score of Difficulty in identifying feelings, Difficulty in describing feelings, externally oriented thinking,respectively (r=0.391,0.435,0.452,all P＜0.05).(4) The level of serum cortisol in non-somatization group was positively related to the total TAS score (r=0.418,P＜0.05) and the factor score of externally oriented thinking(r=0.489,P＜0.01).Conclusions Compared with depressive patients without somatic symptoms,depressive patients with somatic symptoms had more severe alexithymia,especially in Difficulty in identifying feelings and Difficulty in describing feelings.The severity of alexithymia was positively correlated with the level of serum cortisol.