title: Association between serum levels of glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor and attention deficits in schizophrenia.
abstract: Several lines of evidence suggest that glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we investigated the association between GDNF serum levels and the clinical status of medicated patients with schizophrenia. Sixty-three medicated patients with schizophrenia and 52 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Patients were evaluated using the brief psychiatry rating scale, the scale for the assessment of negative symptoms (SANS) and neuropsychological tests. Serum levels of GDNF were determined using an ELISA method. Serum levels of GDNF did not differ between schizophrenia patients and controls. Higher GDNF serum levels were associated with better performances on the Digit Span in healthy controls but not in schizophrenics. At the same time, higher GDNF serum levels were associated with severe attention deficits on the SANS subscale, in schizophrenics. Our preliminary study suggests that serum levels of GDNF may be an unsuitable biomarker for schizophrenia, although it may be associated with working memory in healthy controls and the pathophysiology of attention deficits in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Child Mental Development, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan. Electronic address: niitsu@chiba-u.jp.
authors.forename: Tomihisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niitsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Teikyo University Chiba Medical Center, Ichihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shirayama
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Child Mental Development, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan; Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Matsuzawa
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Child Mental Development, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan; Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan; Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaomi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iyo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
keywords: Attention; Biomarker; Glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF); Schizophrenia; Working memory