title: CSF GABA is reduced in first-episode psychosis and associates to symptom severity.
abstract: Schizophrenia is characterized by a multiplicity of symptoms arising from almost all domains of mental function. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and is increasingly recognized to have a significant role in the pathophysiology of the disorder. In the present study, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of GABA were analyzed in 41 first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients and 21 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers by high-performance liquid chromatography. We found lower CSF GABA concentration in FEP patients compared with that in the healthy volunteers, a condition that was unrelated to antipsychotic and/or anxiolytic medication. Moreover, lower CSF GABA levels were associated with total and general score of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, illness severity and probably with a poor performance in a test of attention. This study offers clinical in vivo evidence for a potential role of GABA in early-stage schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Orhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fatouros-Bergman
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goiny
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malmqvist
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piehl
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cervenka
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Collste
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Victorsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.|Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sellgren
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Flyckt
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erhardt
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Engberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000188:drug therapy; D055815:Young Adult; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid