Schizophrenia Research Institute, Darlinghurst, New South Wales (NSW), Australia; Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Sep;38(9):1717-28. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.02.007. Epub 2013 Mar 9.
Sex steroids such as oestrogen and testosterone are potent neurodevelopmental hormones that also play a role in neuromodulation and neuroprotection of the mature brain. Sex steroid hormones may also be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia as reduced circulating sex steroid levels and changes in brain sex steroid receptors are found in people with schizophrenia compared to controls. In men with schizophrenia, recent studies have documented an inverse correlation between serum testosterone and negative symptoms. Our study sought to confirm whether men with schizophrenia had lower levels of testosterone relative to controls and to determine whether lower testosterone levels were related to higher symptom severity and impaired cognition.
Circulating serum hormone levels (testosterone, oestrogen, and prolactin), cognitive function and symptoms were assessed in 29 chronically ill men with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Twenty healthy men were recruited as a comparison group. A series of regression analyses were performed to determine the extent to which circulating sex steroid hormone levels predict cognition and symptoms in men with schizophrenia.
We did not find a significant difference in serum testosterone levels between groups. However, circulating testosterone levels significantly predicted performance on verbal memory, processing speed, and working memory in men with schizophrenia. With the exception of an effect of oestrogen on verbal memory, circulating sex steroid levels did not predict cognitive function in healthy men. Testosterone levels were not related to positive or negative symptom severity, but testosterone influenced excitement/hostility levels in our schizophrenia sample.
The results suggest that circulating sex steroids may modulate cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia.
雌激素和睾酮等性激素是强有力的神经发育激素，它们在成熟大脑的神经调节和神经保护中也发挥作用。性激素可能也参与精神分裂症的病理生理学，因为与对照组相比，精神分裂症患者的循环性激素水平降低，大脑性激素受体发生变化。在患有精神分裂症的男性中，最近的研究记录了血清睾酮与阴性症状之间的反比关系。我们的研究旨在证实精神分裂症男性的睾酮水平是否相对较低，并确定较低的睾酮水平是否与更高的症状严重程度和认知障碍有关。
我们评估了 29 名患有慢性精神分裂症或分裂情感障碍的男性和 20 名健康男性的循环血清激素水平（睾酮、雌激素和催乳素）、认知功能和症状。进行了一系列回归分析，以确定循环性激素水平在多大程度上可以预测精神分裂症男性的认知和症状。
我们没有发现两组之间血清睾酮水平有显著差异。然而，循环睾酮水平显著预测了精神分裂症男性的言语记忆、加工速度和工作记忆表现。除了雌激素对言语记忆的影响外，循环性激素水平并不能预测健康男性的认知功能。睾酮水平与阳性或阴性症状严重程度无关，但睾酮影响了我们精神分裂症样本的兴奋/敌意水平。
结果表明，循环性激素可能调节与精神分裂症相关的认知缺陷。
