Kim Sung-Wan, Schäfer Miriam R, Klier Claudia M, Berk Michael, Rice Simon, Allott Kelly, Bartholomeusz Cali F, Whittle Sarah L, Pilioussis Eleanor, Pantelis Christos, McGorry Patrick D, Amminger G Paul
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Schizophr Res. 2014 Sep;158(1-3):39-44. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.06.032. Epub 2014 Jul 25.
Cognitive symptoms and impairment are central to schizophrenia and often an early sign of this condition. The present study investigated biological correlates of cognitive symptoms and performance in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. The study sample comprised 80 neuroleptic-naïve UHR individuals aged 13-25 years. Associations among erythrocyte membrane fatty acid levels, measured by gas chromatography, and cognitive functioning were investigated in UHR patients. Subjects were divided into terciles based on their scores on the cognitive factor of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. The Zahlen-Verbindungs Test (ZVT) (the number-combination test) was also used as a measure of information-processing speed. Exploratory analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between membrane fatty acid levels with the size of the intracranial area (ICA), a neurodevelopmental measure relevant to schizophrenia, in half of subjects (n=40) using magnetic resonance imaging. The adjusted analysis revealed that omega-9 eicosenoic and erucic acid levels were significantly higher, but omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid levels were significantly lower, in the cognitively impaired than in the cognitively intact group. We found a significant negative association of eicosenoic, erucic, and gamma-linoleic acids with ZVT scores. A negative association between ICA and membrane levels of eicosenoic acid was also found. This is the first study to demonstrate the relationship between membrane fatty acids and cognitive function in neuroleptic-naïve subjects at UHR for psychosis. The study findings indicate that abnormalities in membrane fatty acids may be associated with the neurodevelopmental disruption associated with the cognitive impairments of individuals at UHR for psychosis.
认知症状和损害是精神分裂症的核心,且往往是该疾病的早期迹象。本研究调查了超高风险(UHR)精神病个体认知症状和表现的生物学关联。研究样本包括80名年龄在13至25岁之间、未使用过抗精神病药物的UHR个体。通过气相色谱法测量的红细胞膜脂肪酸水平与UHR患者认知功能之间的关联进行了研究。根据阳性和阴性症状量表认知因子得分将受试者分为三分位数。数字连接测试(ZVT)(数字组合测试)也被用作信息处理速度的测量指标。在一半受试者(n = 40)中,使用磁共振成像进行探索性分析,以研究膜脂肪酸水平与颅内面积(ICA)大小之间的关系,ICA是与精神分裂症相关的神经发育测量指标。校正分析显示,与认知功能正常组相比,认知受损组中ω-9二十碳烯酸和芥酸水平显著更高,但ω-3二十二碳六烯酸水平显著更低。我们发现二十碳烯酸、芥酸和γ-亚麻酸与ZVT得分之间存在显著负相关。还发现ICA与二十碳烯酸的膜水平之间存在负相关。这是第一项证明未使用抗精神病药物的UHR精神病个体膜脂肪酸与认知功能之间关系的研究。研究结果表明,膜脂肪酸异常可能与UHR精神病个体认知障碍相关的神经发育破坏有关。