Arinola Og, Idonije Ob
Department of Chemical Pathology and Immunology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
J Res Med Sci. 2009 Jan;14(1):37-42.
Recently, it is proposed that oxidant-antioxidant imbalance may have a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The present study was performed to assess differences in plasma levels of nitric oxide (as oxidant), caeruloplasmin (secondary antioxidant), and antioxidant trace metals (Zn, Se, Mn, Cu and Fe) in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. Our secondary aim was to further evaluate the impact of psychopharmacologic treatment on these parameters.
Plasma levels of nitric oxides (NO), caeruloplasmin, zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) in patients with schizophrenia before (n = 15) and after antipsychotic drug treatment (n = 20) were compared with those of healthy controls (n = 20). Convenient sampling method was used for the selection of subjects. NO was estimated by the use of Griess method, caeruloplasmin was estimated by the use of immunodiffusion method and antioxidant trace metals was estimated by the use of atomic absorption spectrophotometer.
The levels of Cu and caeruloplasmin were not significantly different while Fe and Se were significantly reduced in both groups of schizophrenic patients compared with the controls. Zn was significantly elevated in medicated schizophrenics compared with drug-free patients or controls. NO was significantly elevated in drug free patients with schizophrenia compared with controls or treated patients.
Our findings suggest the application of management strategies that will reduce NO but will increase antioxidant trace metals in patients with schizophrenia.
最近，有人提出氧化-抗氧化失衡可能在精神分裂症的病理生理学中起作用。本研究旨在评估精神分裂症患者与健康对照者血浆中一氧化氮（作为氧化剂）、铜蓝蛋白（二级抗氧化剂）和抗氧化微量金属（锌、硒、锰、铜和铁）水平的差异。我们的次要目的是进一步评估精神药物治疗对这些参数的影响。
比较了15例精神分裂症患者治疗前、20例抗精神病药物治疗后以及20例健康对照者血浆中一氧化氮（NO）、铜蓝蛋白、锌（Zn）、硒（Se）、锰（Mn）、铜（Cu）和铁（Fe）的水平。采用方便抽样法选择研究对象。NO采用格里斯法测定，铜蓝蛋白采用免疫扩散法测定，抗氧化微量金属采用原子吸收分光光度计测定。
与对照组相比，两组精神分裂症患者的铜和铜蓝蛋白水平无显著差异，而铁和硒水平显著降低。与未服药的患者或对照组相比，服药的精神分裂症患者锌水平显著升高。与对照组或治疗后的患者相比，未服药的精神分裂症患者NO水平显著升高。
我们的研究结果表明，应采用管理策略降低精神分裂症患者的NO水平，但提高抗氧化微量金属水平。
