title: Decreased BDNF in serum of patients with chronic schizophrenia on long-term treatment with antipsychotics.
abstract: Accumulating evidence suggests BDNF as a molecule involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. To examine the BDNF levels and the relationship between BDNF levels and psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia, 81 physically healthy patients with schizophrenia were compared with 45 age-, sex- matched normal controls. The psychopathology of patients were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Serum BDNF levels were measured by sandwich ELISA. The results showed that BDNF-like immunoreactivity were significantly lower in medicated patients with chronic schizophrenia than in healthy control subjects. A significant negative correlation between BDNF-like immunoreactivity and PANSS negative subscore was observed. As compared with normal controls, there was a significant decrease in BDNF-like immunoreactivity in patients treated with both atypical and typical antipsychotics. However, no correlation between standardized drug doses and BDNF-like immunoreactivity was found. These findings suggest that serum BDNF levels in chronic schizophrenia under antipsychotic medication may be decreased. However, long-term effects of antipsychotics remain to be characterized.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100083, PR China.
authors.forename: Yun Long
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Dong Feng
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Lian Yuan
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Yi Zhuang
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Xiang Yang
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor