| 1 | J Psychiatr Res 2009 Sep 43: 1078-85 |
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| PMID | 19380152 |
| Title | Levels of the potential biomarker p11 in peripheral blood cells distinguish patients with PTSD from those with other major psychiatric disorders. |
| Abstract | Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severely debilitating anxiety disorder. Over 80% of patients with PTSD also exhibit other psychiatric condition, such as bipolar disorder (BP) or major depression (MDD). Previously, it has been found that p11 mRNA expression was significantly changed in post mortem cortex of patients with PTSD and depression. We hypothesize that p11 mRNA levels in the peripheral blood cells will be a potential biomarker for PTSD with heterogeneity in terms of type of trauma, time since trauma and duration of illness. We examined the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) P11 mRNA of patients with PTSD (n=13), major depressive disorder (MDD, n=16), bipolar disorder (BP, n=24), and schizophrenia (SCZ, n=12) or controls (n=14) using quantitative real-time PCR and the circulating levels of cortisol in blood plasma and saliva of PTSD using radioimmunoassay kit CORT-CT2. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) and Anxiety (HARS), the Chinese version of the Davidson Trauma Scale-Frequency (CDTS-F) and the Chinese version of the Davidson Trauma Scale-Severity (CDTS-S), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were administered. We found that patients with PTSD had lower levels of p11 mRNA than control subjects, while those with MDD, BP and SCZ had significantly higher p11 levels than the controls. P11 mRNA levels were positively correlated with the scores of HAMD (r=0.62, p<0.05), CDTS-F (r=0.71, p<0.05) and CDTS-S (r=0.62, p<0.05), while they did not correlate with scores of HARS and IES-R. Basal levels of plasma and salivary cortisol of PTSD patients were not statistically different from those of controls. Our findings suggest that PBMC p11 mRNA expression levels may serve as a potential biomarker to distinguish PTSD from BP, MDD and SCZ. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 2 | Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract 2009 -1 13: 312-7 |
| PMID | 24916943 |
| Title | The prevalence of comorbid anxiety disorders in outpatients with schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of lifetime anxiety disorders in patients with schizophrenia in Sanliurfa, Turkey, and to assess the association between comorbidity and several demographic and clinical variables. Methods. Eighty-two outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia were recruited for the study. They were assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV axis I Disorders-Clinician Version (SCID-I-CV), Anxiety Disorder Module, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Results. Fifty-five (67.1%) were diagnosed with at least one lifetime comorbid anxiety disorder. The most common anxiety disorder was obsessive-compulsive disorder (39.0%), followed by social phobia (13.4%). We found patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia with comorbid anxiety disorders had shorter duration of illness than those without such comorbid conditions. Atypical antipsychotics were more commonly prescribed to treat these patients. Conclusion. As comorbidity of anxiety disorders is relatively prevalent among patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, special attention to this issue should be paid when interviewing these patients. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 3 | J Clin Psychiatry 2011 Jan 72: 34-42 |
| PMID | 21208586 |
| Title | L-theanine relieves positive, activation, and anxiety symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: an 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-center study. |
| Abstract | L-theanine is a unique amino acid present almost exclusively in the tea plant. It possesses neuroprotective, mood-enhancing, and relaxation properties. This is a first study designed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of L-theanine augmentation of antipsychotic treatment of patients with chronic schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. 60 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder participated in an 8-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. 400 mg/d of L-theanine was added to ongoing antipsychotic treatment from February 2006 until October 2008. The outcome measures were the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) for neurocognitive functioning, and additional measures of general functioning, side effects, and quality of life. 40 patients completed the study protocol. Compared with placebo, L-theanine augmentation was associated with reduction of anxiety (P = .015; measured by the HARS scale) and positive (P = .009) and general psychopathology (P < .001) scores (measured by the PANSS 3-dimensional model). According to the 5-dimension model of psychopathology, L-theanine produced significant reductions on PANSS positive (P = .004) and activation factor (P = .006) scores compared to placebo. The effect sizes (Cohen d) for these differences ranged from modest to moderate (0.09-0.39). PANSS negative and CANTAB task scores, general functioning, side effect, and quality of life measures were not affected by L-theanine augmentation. L-theanine was found to be a safe and well-tolerated medication. L-theanine augmentation of antipsychotic therapy can ameliorate positive, activation, and anxiety symptoms in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder patients. Further long-term studies of L-theanine are needed to substantiate the clinically significant benefits of L-theanine augmentation. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 4 | Int J Risk Saf Med 2015 -1 27 Suppl 1: S23-4 |
| PMID | 26639694 |
| Title | CYP3A4 activity and haloperidol effects in alcohol addicts. |
| Abstract | Haloperidol is one of the most commonly used typical antipsychotics [2]. It has a powerful antipsychotic activity blocking mesolimbic postsynaptic dopamine receptors. Unwanted adverse effects accompany the use of haloperidol. Therefore alcohol abusers' attitudes towards haloperidol are ambiguous and often negative, which sometimes limits it's use in patients with addictive disorders [3]. Cytosolic carbonyl reductase reduces haloperidol to reduced form, which has 10-20% of the activity of the parent molecule. It is further metabolized by CYP3A4 to a tetrahydropyridine and then conjugated by glucuronidation and sulphation. Reduced haloperidol is back-oxidized to haloperidol by CYP3A4 and CYP2D6. Haloperidol is N-dealkylated by CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 to 4-chlorophenyl-4-hydroxypiperidine and p-fluorobenzoyl propionic acid. The correlation between CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 activity and the rate of biotransformation of haloperidol was demonstrated in a number of studies on patients with schizophrenia [1, 2, 5]. At the same time other studies deny or disaffirm this correlation [4]. To estimate the correlation between CYP3A4 isoenzyme activity and the efficacy and safety of haloperidol in patients with alcohol abuse during the exacerbation of the addiction. The study involved 15 men, alcohol abusers, in exacerbation of their addiction, who were hospitalized in Moscow Research and Practical Centre for Narcology of the Departament of Public Health. All 15 patients received haloperidol in tablets and injections. Determination of CYP3A4 activity was performed using high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (HPLC/ MS) by determination of endogenous substrate of this isoenzyme and its metabolite in urine - the ratio: cortisol/6-beta-hydroxycortisol. We used international psychometric scales to assess efficacy of haloperidol (the scale of determining the severity of addiction of The National Research Center on Addictions of the Ministry of Health Of Russia, Hamilton Anxiety Research Scale (HARS)). The safety of haloperidol was estimated by the UKU Side-Effect Rating Scale. Scales express the clinical picture of the abuse. The higher the score, the more pronounced the addiction is. Calculating the differences in scores of the scales allowed for clinical assessment of haloperidol effects. The larger the difference in scores was, the more pronounced were the changes in clinical picture of abuse, and the higher the efficacy of therapy was assumed. Statistical analysis of the results of the study was performed by non-parametric statistics by the program STATISTICA v10.0 («StatSoft Inc.», USA). The normality of sample distribution was estimated by Shapiro-Wilk's W-test, and the homogeneity of dispersion, that was estimated by Fisher's T-test (in case of comparison of two samples). The differences were evaluated as significant in case of p < 0,05 (statistic power >80%). To determine the correlation between the quantitative characteristics Spearman rank R coefficient was calculated. The value of correlation coefficient r from 0,3 to 0,7 (p < 0,05) indicated positive moderate, but significant correlation between the characteristics, r>0,7 (p < 0,05) - strong and significant correlation, negative value of r indicated inverse correlation. Data analysis demonstrated a correlation between the activity of isoenzyme CYP3A4 and the scores of pathological addiction (r1 = -0,36), HARS (r2 = -0,45), UKU Side-Effect Rating Scale (r3 = -0.15) in the entire group (p < 0.05). In a group of patients, who received the higher doses of haloperidol (more than 7.5 mg per day in tablets or 5 mg per day in injections), the following results were received in the same groups of data: r1 = -0.68, r2 = -0.71, r3 = -0.76 (p < 0.05). The results demonstrate the correlation between CYP3A4 activities and the efficacy and safety of haloperidol in alcohol abusers during the exacerbation of the addiction. The inverse correlation indicates that the higher the activity of CYP3A4 is, the lower the efficacy of haloperidol is. Also it can be assumed that the presence of strong correlation between the activity of CYP3A4 and the efficacy of haloperidol in group of patients, who received higher doses of haloperidol, may indicate that CYP3A4 is involved in haloperidol metabolism when it is used at higher doses. It should be noted that in this research the activity of CYP3A4 was determined using high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) by determination the ratio of cortisol/6-beta-hydroxycortisol for the fist time. To increase the level of our confidence in the results further studies with a larger number of people are necessary. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 5 | Mol. Biol. Evol. 2015 May 32: 1148-60 |
| PMID | 25681384 |
| Title | Genomic and network patterns of schizophrenia genetic variation in human evolutionary accelerated regions. |
| Abstract | The population persistence of schizophrenia despite associated reductions in fitness and fecundity suggests that the genetic basis of schizophrenia has a complex evolutionary history. A recent meta-analysis of schizophrenia genome-wide association studies offers novel opportunities for assessment of the evolutionary trajectories of schizophrenia-associated loci. In this study, we hypothesize that components of the genetic architecture of schizophrenia are attributable to human lineage-specific evolution. Our results suggest that schizophrenia-associated loci enrich in genes near previously identified human accelerated regions (HARS). Specifically, we find that genes near HARS conserved in nonhuman primates (pHARS) are enriched for schizophrenia-associated loci, and that pHAR-associated schizophrenia genes are under stronger selective pressure than other schizophrenia genes and other pHAR-associated genes. We further evaluate pHAR-associated schizophrenia genes in regulatory network contexts to investigate associated molecular functions and mechanisms. We find that pHAR-associated schizophrenia genes significantly enrich in a GABA-related coexpression module that was previously found to be differentially regulated in schizophrenia affected individuals versus healthy controls. In another two independent networks constructed from gene expression profiles from prefrontal cortex samples, we find that pHAR-associated schizophrenia genes are located in more central positions and their average path lengths to the other nodes are significantly shorter than those of other schizophrenia genes. Together, our results suggest that HARS are associated with potentially important functional roles in the genetic architecture of schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |