Oxidative stress and neopterin abnormalities in schizophrenia: a longitudinal study.
Oxidative stress abnormalities have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The present study examined neopterin and oxidative stress abnormalities in schizophrenia patients before and after treatment. Serum neopterin, total anti-oxidants, nitrites and thiols in antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients (n=45) were assessed at baseline before treatment in comparison with healthy controls (n=43). The schizophrenia patients on treatment were followed up for 3months and these parameters were reassessed (n=32). In comparison to healthy controls, schizophrenia patients had significantly higher levels of neopterin and nitrites and significantly lower levels of anti-oxidants before treatment. During follow-up assessments in schizophrenia patients after treatment with antipsychotics, there was a significant decrease in the neopterin levels and significant increase in anti-oxidant levels. Our study observations support increased oxidative stress in schizophrenia that improves with antipsychotic treatment.
Department of Neurochemistry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore 560029, India.
Seetharamaiah
S
Chittiprol
Ganesan
G
Venkatasubramanian
Narendran
N
Neelakantachar
S V Suresh
SV
Babu
Naveen A
NA
Reddy
K Taranath
KT
Shetty
Bangalore N
BN
Gangadhar
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D019798:Neopterin / Q000097:blood*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D019798:Neopterin