title: Neuropeptide deficits in schizophrenia vs. Alzheimer's disease cerebral cortex.
abstract: Neuropeptide concentrations were determined in the postmortem cerebral cortex from 19 cognitive-impaired schizophrenics, 4 normal elderly subjects, 4 multi-infarct dementia (MID) cases, and 13 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Only AD patients met criteria for AD. The normal elderly and MID cases were combined into one control group. Somatostatin concentrations were reduced in both schizophrenia and AD. Neuropeptide Y concentrations were reduced only in schizophrenia, and corticotropin-releasing hormone concentrations were primarily reduced in AD. Concentrations of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and cholecystokinin also were reduced in schizophrenia, although not as profoundly as somatostatin or neuropeptide Y. In AD, cholecystokinin and vasoactive intestinal peptide were unchanged. Neuropeptide deficits in schizophrenics were more pronounced in the temporal and frontal lobes than in the occipital lobe. The mechanisms underlying these deficits in schizophrenia and AD are likely distinct. In schizophrenia, a common neural element, perhaps the cerebral cortical gaba-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-containing neuron, may underlie these deficits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Haroutunian
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Powchik
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bierer
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Purohit
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Perl
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D001344:Autopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D002766:Cholecystokinin / Q000172:deficiency; D003071:Cognition; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000172:deficiency; D015161:Dementia, Multi-Infarct / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000172:deficiency*; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000378:metabolism; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000378:metabolism*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000172:deficiency; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000172:deficiency
chemical_list: D009479:Neuropeptides; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D013004:Somatostatin; D002766:Cholecystokinin; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone