title: Bcl-2 associated with positive symptoms of schizophrenic patients in an acute phase.
abstract: B cell lymphoma protein-2 (Bcl-2) may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia in the brain. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of Bcl-2 in schizophrenic patients in an acute phase, and evaluate Bcl-2 level changes after antipsychotic treatment. We consecutively enrolled 41 schizophrenia patients in an acute phase; 28 were followed up with a 4-week antipsychotic treatment. Serum Bcl-2 levels were measured with assay kits. All patients were evaluated by examining the correlation between Bcl-2 levels and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores, using Pearson correlation coefficients. In schizophrenic patients in an acute phase, positive PANSS subscores were significantly negatively correlated with Bcl-2 levels. In addition, we found Bcl-2 levels had a significantly negative correlation with PANSS total scores and positive subscores in male patients in an acute phase. Using the paired t-test, we found no significant changes in Bcl-2 levels in schizophrenia patients who had received the 4-week treatment with antipsychotic drugs (n=28). In conclusion, our results suggest that Bcl-2 might be an indicator of schizophrenia severity in the acute phase. In addition, Bcl-2 levels might be associated with positive symptoms in male patients with schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Meng-Chang
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Chia-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Liou
authors.forename: Tsu-Kung
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: I-Mei
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Tiao-Lai
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019254:Genes, bcl-2 / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents
keywords: Antipsychotics; Bcl-2; PANSS; Paliperidone; Schizophrenia