title: Glutathione S-transferase alpha 1 risk polymorphism and increased bilateral thalamus mean diffusivity in schizophrenia.
abstract: Oxidative damage in brain cells is one of the factors hypothesized to be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) A1*B polymorphism, a genotype associated with a higher risk of oxidative damage, is associated with increased frequency of schizophrenia diagnosis. Thus, here we studied Glutathione S-transferase (GST) A1 polymorphism and diffusion tensor imaging-mean diffusivity (MD) data on deep grey matter brain structures in 56 patients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revised (DSM-IV-TR) schizophrenia. Clinical diagnosis and psychopathological symptom severity were assessed by using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID-P) and the Scales for Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms (SAPS and SANS). Results confirmed that patients with schizophrenia who were carriers of the GSTA1 *B risk allele had an increased MD in bilateral thalami and increased severity of auditory and global hallucinations in comparison with non-B carriers. Thus, oxidative stress associated factors may be implicated in specific mechanisms of schizophrenia such as altered microstructure of the thalami and specific psychopathological features of auditory hallucinations.
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy. g.spalletta@hsantalucia.it
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spalletta
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gravina
authors.forename: Mario Lo
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bello
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernardini
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caltagirone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006580:Genetic Carrier Screening; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000235:genetics*; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: C484555:GSTA1 protein, human; D005982:Glutathione Transferase