title: Gender difference in association of cognition with BDNF in chronic schizophrenia.
abstract: While numerous studies have reported that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, very few studies have explored its association with cognitive impairment or gender differences in schizophrenia which we explored. We compared gender differences in 248 chronic schizophrenic patients (male/female=185/63) to 188 healthy controls (male/female=98/90) on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and serum BDNF. Schizophrenic symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Our results showed that schizophrenic patients performed worse than normals on most of the cognitive tasks, and male patients had significantly lower immediate memory and delayed memory scores than female patients. BDNF levels were significantly lower in patients than controls, and male patients had significantly lower BDNF levels than female patients. For the patients, BDNF was positively associated with immediate memory and the RBANS total score. Furthermore, these associations were only observed in female not male patients. Among healthy controls, no gender difference was observed in cognitive domains and BDNF levels, or in the association between BDNF and cognition. Our results suggest gender differences in cognitive impairments, BDNF levels and their association in chronic patients with schizophrenia. However, the findings should be regarded as preliminary due to the cross-sectional design and our chronic patients, which need replication in a first-episode and drug naïve patients using a longitudinal study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Harris County Psychiatric Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA; Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: zhangxy9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Xiang Yang
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Da-Chun
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yun-Long
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Ren
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Fu-De
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mei-Hong
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Xiu
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Meng-Han
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Harris County Psychiatric Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Giovana B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Zunta-Soares
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Harris County Psychiatric Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: jair.c.soares@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Jair C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
keywords: Association; BDNF; Cognition; Gender difference; Schizophrenia