Piłat Patrycja, Nikel Kamil, Smolarczyk Joanna, Piegza Magdalena
Students Scientific Association, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-055 Katowice, Poland.
Department of Psychoprophylaxis, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-055 Katowice, Poland.
Life (Basel). 2024 Jun 28;14(7):828. doi: 10.3390/life14070828.
Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by disturbances in the perception of reality, thinking, emotions, and social functioning. This significantly impacts the quality of life of patients and leads to long-term disability. Despite advances in understanding its pathogenesis and treatment, schizophrenia remains a clinical challenge, especially due to the diversity of its symptoms and the complexity of its mechanisms. Schizophrenia is associated with abnormal functioning of the dopaminergic system, disturbances in glutamatergic neurotransmission, and oxidative stress in the brain. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in optimizing the treatment of mental disorders. The potential use of ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, in the therapy of schizophrenia could bring substantial benefits to patients. Ascorbic acid exhibits antioxidant and neuroprotective properties, suggesting its potential efficacy in reducing brain oxidative stress and improving neurotransmission. Additionally, there have been reports of its positive effects on psychotic symptoms and its potential in reducing the side effects of antipsychotic drugs. In this review article, we present the current state of knowledge on the potential use of ascorbic acid in the treatment of schizophrenia as an adjunct to standard pharmacological therapy. We analyze existing clinical studies and the mechanisms of action of vitamin C, suggesting its promising role as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia. These insights, though not yet widely disseminated, may be significant for the further development of therapeutic strategies for this mental illness.
精神分裂症是一种精神疾病，其特征在于现实感知、思维、情感和社会功能方面的紊乱。这对患者的生活质量产生重大影响，并导致长期残疾。尽管在理解其发病机制和治疗方面取得了进展，但精神分裂症仍然是一个临床挑战，特别是由于其症状的多样性和机制的复杂性。精神分裂症与多巴胺能系统功能异常、谷氨酸能神经传递紊乱以及大脑中的氧化应激有关。近年来，人们对优化精神障碍的治疗越来越感兴趣。抗坏血酸（即维生素C）在精神分裂症治疗中的潜在应用可能会给患者带来巨大益处。抗坏血酸具有抗氧化和神经保护特性，表明其在减轻大脑氧化应激和改善神经传递方面具有潜在功效。此外，有报道称其对精神病症状有积极影响，并且在减少抗精神病药物副作用方面具有潜力。在这篇综述文章中，我们介绍了抗坏血酸作为标准药物治疗辅助手段在精神分裂症治疗中的潜在应用的当前知识状态。我们分析了现有的临床研究以及维生素C的作用机制，表明其在精神分裂症治疗中作为辅助治疗具有广阔前景。这些见解虽然尚未广泛传播，但可能对这种精神疾病治疗策略的进一步发展具有重要意义。
