to what has been discussed in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Patients afflicted with schizophrenia show a drastic increase in microglial activation and arachidonic acid signaling, both major inflammation contributors which are known to cause neuronal loss and reduced function. This combination of factors is particularly unique to Schizophrenia patients, so much so that a profile capable of identifying the extent of related inflammation by-products(cytokines and chemokines) is used to diagnose schizophrenia with approximately 90% accuracy. As discussed previously, consistent exercise produces greater amounts of myokine IL-6 which regulates inflammatory pathways and increases production of IL-10, a cytokine that inhibits microglial activation. One of the primary characteristics of schizophrenia is the occurrence of acute psychosis incited by a range of stressful events depending on an individual's predisposition to stress response. An individual's stress response is in large part governed by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis or HPA. The HPA is multistep biochemical process that results in the release of cortisol from the adrenal gland and consequently excessive dopamine release associated with psychosis. Those prone to affected disorders such as schizophrenia are believed to have inherently hyper-active HPA which makes them especially sensitive to stressors. Some studies have shown that moderate, long-term exercise has reduced psychotic symptoms by decreasing basal cortisol levels in patients. However, acute, short-term exercise has shown to cause an immediate increase cortisol levels due to the stressful nature of the activity. The key point being that consistent exercise over a substantial period of time results in a significantly lower baseline cortisol levels despite the short-term spikes caused by performing the activity. Generally lower cortisol levels reduces heightened dopamine release common in patients and brings cortisol levels closer to that of healthy control subjects. Although this is by no means a cure, it can notably improve the lives of those affected by mitigating symptoms and normalizing patient response to commons stressors. Recent studies suggest that schizophrenia patients can benefit from long-term exercise which causes decreased neuroinflammation and basal cortisol levels associated with psychotic events. The epigenetic modulation of basal cortisol levels in schizophrenic patients is just one of several alterations related to this disorder. Further epigenetic modifications are discussed in Epigenetics of schizophrenia. References Epigenetics