Abstract:Objective To investigate the effect of Berberine on cognitive function, neurotrophy and neuroinflammatory injury in schizophrenia patients. Methods A total of 140 cases of schizophrenia patients were selected in Hangzhou Seventh People’s Hospital from January 2014 to December 2016, and were randomly divided into a Berberine group (Berberine+Olanzapine treatment) and a control group (placebo+Olanzapine treatment), with 70 cases in each group. The Chinese version of schizophrenia cognitive function test was used to test the cognitive function of the patients. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the serum levels of neurotrophic factor 3 (NT-3), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Results Before treatment, there were no significant difference in the total score of HVLT-R, WMS-Ⅲ, BVMT-R, TMT or SC, or the serum level of NT-3, BDNF, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β or CRP (P > 0.05). After treatment, the total scores of HVLT-R, WMS-Ⅲ, BVMT-R and SC in the Berberine group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05), the TMT score was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05); the serum levels of NT-3 and BDNF in the Berberine group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05); the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β and CRP in the Berberine group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions Berberine can improve cognitive function of schizophrenia patients and reduce the neuroinflammatory response, and has neuroprotective effect.