Ohnuma Tohru, Sakai Yoshie, Maeshima Hitoshi, Hatano Tokiko, Hanzawa Ryo, Abe Sawako, Kida Sayaka, Shibata Nobuto, Suzuki Toshihito, Arai Heii
Juntendo University Schizophrenia Projects (JUSP), Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Dec 12;32(8):1905-12. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2008.07.022. Epub 2008 Sep 16.
Based on the hypothesis of NMDA receptor hypofunction in schizophrenia, plasma glycine, L-serine, and D-serine levels have been studied, since they could serve as biological markers. However, changes over time in the levels of these amino acids in schizophrenic patients have not been investigated. To clarify the mean plasma glycine, L-serine, and D-serine levels in patients with schizophrenia, levels of these amino acids were compared between healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia. The plasma levels of these amino acids during the clinical course of schizophrenia were also compared.
Eighty-nine Japanese patients with schizophrenia and 50 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were studied. Plasma glycine, L-serine, and D-serine levels and their ratios were measured twice, during the acute stage and during the remission stage, using high-performance liquid chromatography.
The admission plasma glycine, L-serine, and D-serine levels of schizophrenic patients were higher than those of healthy controls. There were no significant differences between drug-naïve patients and healthy controls in the admission levels of the plasma amino acids, but chronically medicated patients had higher admission plasma glycine and D-serine levels. Only the D-serine level and the D-/L-serine ratio were markedly significantly increased in schizophrenic patients from the time of admission to the time of discharge as their clinical symptoms improved. In addition, the increase in the plasma D-serine levels of drug-naïve patients was correlated with improvements in positive symptoms.
Plasma amino acid levels, especially D-serine levels, could be useful as a "therapeutic" or "clinical state" marker in patients with acute schizophrenia.
基于精神分裂症中N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸（NMDA）受体功能低下的假说，对血浆甘氨酸、L-丝氨酸和D-丝氨酸水平进行了研究，因为它们可能作为生物学标志物。然而，尚未对精神分裂症患者这些氨基酸水平随时间的变化进行研究。为了阐明精神分裂症患者血浆甘氨酸、L-丝氨酸和D-丝氨酸的平均水平，比较了健康对照者和精神分裂症患者这些氨基酸的水平。还比较了精神分裂症临床病程中这些氨基酸的血浆水平。
对89例日本精神分裂症患者和50例年龄及性别匹配的健康对照者进行了研究。在急性期和缓解期，使用高效液相色谱法两次测量血浆甘氨酸、L-丝氨酸和D-丝氨酸水平及其比率。
精神分裂症患者入院时血浆甘氨酸、L-丝氨酸和D-丝氨酸水平高于健康对照者。未用药患者和健康对照者入院时血浆氨基酸水平无显著差异，但长期用药患者入院时血浆甘氨酸和D-丝氨酸水平较高。随着临床症状改善，从入院到出院时，只有精神分裂症患者的D-丝氨酸水平和D-/L-丝氨酸比率显著明显升高。此外，未用药患者血浆D-丝氨酸水平的升高与阳性症状的改善相关。
血浆氨基酸水平，尤其是D-丝氨酸水平，可作为急性精神分裂症患者的“治疗”或“临床状态”标志物。
