Department of Affective and Psychotic Disorders, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
State University of Applied Sciences in Konin, Konin, Poland.
CNS Neurosci Ther. 2018 Dec;24(12):1156-1162. doi: 10.1111/cns.12849. Epub 2018 Apr 11.
The odor identification ability and its hedonic judgment in patients with schizophrenia were evaluated in the study. The association between olfactory performance and negative symptoms and β-endorphin concentration was also analyzed.
Study groups consisted of 23 patients with negative symptoms (PN) and 25 without predominant negative symptoms (PP) and 21 healthy individuals. The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, odor hedonic evaluation, and plasma concentrations of β-endorphin assay in all participants were performed.
PN perceived the poorer olfactory identification; nevertheless, they evaluated unpleasant odors as more pleasant than PP and controls. Beta-endorphin concentration was significantly higher among PN than in other study groups. No association was observed between β-endorphin and odors identification and odor hedonic judgment among all study groups.
There is potential relationship between increased β-endorphin concentration and severity of negative symptoms. Patients with predominant negative symptoms tend to evaluate odors as significantly more pleasant. Individuals with this subtype of schizophrenia might present specific, altered pattern of smell identification and hedonic judgment. Presumably, β-endorphin has no direct influence on olfactory identification performance and hedonic judgment in schizophrenia.
本研究旨在评估精神分裂症患者的嗅觉识别能力及其快感判断。分析嗅觉表现与阴性症状和β-内啡肽浓度之间的关系。
研究组包括 23 名有阴性症状的患者（PN）、25 名无主要阴性症状的患者（PP）和 21 名健康个体。所有参与者均进行了宾夕法尼亚大学嗅觉识别测试、气味快感评估和血浆β-内啡肽浓度测定。
PN 组的嗅觉识别能力较差，但他们对不愉快气味的评价比 PP 组和对照组更愉悦。PN 组的β-内啡肽浓度明显高于其他研究组。在所有研究组中，β-内啡肽与气味识别和气味快感判断之间均无相关性。
β-内啡肽浓度升高与阴性症状的严重程度之间存在潜在关系。有主要阴性症状的患者倾向于对气味的评价更愉悦。具有这种亚型的精神分裂症患者可能表现出特定的、改变了的嗅觉识别和快感判断模式。推测β-内啡肽对精神分裂症患者的嗅觉识别能力和快感判断没有直接影响。
