Department of Pharmacology, Wroclaw Medical University, J. Mikulicza-Radeckiego 2, 50-345 Wroclaw, Poland.
Department of Biostructure and Animal Physiology, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C.K. Norwida 25/27, 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Mar 30;24(7):6492. doi: 10.3390/ijms24076492.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with a chronic, progressive course. The etiology of this condition is linked to the interactions of multiple genes and environmental factors. The earlier age of onset of schizophrenia, the higher frequency of negative symptoms in the clinical presentation, and the poorer response to antipsychotic treatment in men compared to women suggests the involvement of sex hormones in these processes. This article aims to draw attention to the possible relationship between testosterone and some clinical features in male schizophrenic patients and discuss the complex nature of these phenomena based on data from the literature. PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched to select the papers without limiting the time of the publications. Hormone levels in the body are regulated by many organs and systems, and take place through the neuroendocrine, hormonal, neural, and metabolic pathways. Sex hormones play an important role in the development and function of the organism. Besides their impact on secondary sex characteristics, they influence brain development and function, mood, and cognition. In men with schizophrenia, altered testosterone levels were noted. In many cases, evidence from available single studies gave contradictory results. However, it seems that the testosterone level in men affected by schizophrenia may differ depending on the phase of the disease, types of clinical symptoms, and administered therapy. The etiology of testosterone level disturbances may be very complex. Besides the impact of the illness (schizophrenia), stress, and antipsychotic drug-induced hyperprolactinemia, testosterone levels may be influenced by, i.a., obesity, substances of abuse (e.g., ethanol), or liver damage.
精神分裂症是一种严重的精神障碍，具有慢性、进行性的病程。这种疾病的病因与多个基因和环境因素的相互作用有关。精神分裂症发病年龄越早，临床表现中阴性症状的频率越高，男性对抗精神病药物治疗的反应越差，这表明性激素在这些过程中起作用。本文旨在提请人们注意睾酮与男性精神分裂症患者某些临床特征之间可能存在的关系，并根据文献数据讨论这些现象的复杂性。在不限制出版物时间的情况下，从 PubMed、Web of Science 和 Google Scholar 数据库中搜索了论文。体内的激素水平受到许多器官和系统的调节，通过神经内分泌、激素、神经和代谢途径发生作用。性激素在机体的发育和功能中起着重要作用。除了对第二性征的影响外，它们还影响大脑发育和功能、情绪和认知。在精神分裂症男性中，观察到睾酮水平改变。在许多情况下，现有单项研究的证据得出了相互矛盾的结果。然而，似乎受精神分裂症影响的男性的睾酮水平可能因疾病阶段、临床症状类型和给予的治疗而异。睾酮水平紊乱的病因可能非常复杂。除了疾病（精神分裂症）的影响、压力和抗精神病药物引起的高催乳素血症外，睾酮水平还可能受到肥胖、滥用物质（如乙醇）或肝损伤的影响。
