title: Serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in schizophrenia on a hypocaloric diet.
abstract: Dietary factors influence BDNF in animal studies, but there is no comparable data in clinical populations. We examined the effect of a dietary intervention on BDNF serum levels in 67 DSM-IV schizophrenic outpatients (51 males and 16 females). Two groups were assessed in a cross-sectional study: one on a hypocaloric diet (HD) and the other not on a hypocaloric diet. Weight, height and BMI data were collected concurrently with 5-ml blood sampling of each subject. BDNF levels were measured with a sandwich-ELISA. The blood sample was obtained a minimum of one month after the exposure to dietary intervention. Serum BDNF levels were significantly higher in patients on the HD (p=0.023). Additional research examining the interaction among patterns of nutritional food behavior and underlying physiopathology may result in insights upon which evidence-based decisions regarding dietary interventions can be made in people identified with major psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Post-Graduation Program, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Schizophrenia Program, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lísia Rejane
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: Felice N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Jacka
authors.forename: Clarissa Severino
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Gama
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berk
authors.forename: Carmen Lúcia
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Leitão-Azevedo
authors.forename: Martha Guerra
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Belmonte de Abreu
authors.forename: Maria Inês
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Lobato
authors.forename: Ana Cristina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Andreazza
authors.forename: Keila Maria
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ceresér
authors.forename: Flávio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kapczinski
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Belmonte-de-Abreu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D031204:Caloric Restriction / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor