A discovery that a subgroup of patients with schizophrenia have increased production of kynurenic acid in the brain could pave the way for new drug treatment targets, Australian researchers say.

During inflammation, the amino acid tryptophan is broken down into kynurenine, which either forms quinolinic or kynurenic acid.

It has previously been debated which of these leads to brain pathology in schizophrenia.

But a new study by collaborators at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), UNSW Sydney and Macquarie University has confirmed the link between inflammation markers and activation of the kynurenine pathway in patients with schizophrenia who have high levels of cytokines.