Iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, and calcium in postmortem brain tissue from schizophrenic patients.

The regional distribution of iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, and calcium in postmortem brain of schizophrenic patients was compared with that of matched controls. In none of the brain regions investigated (caudate nucleus, hippocampus, amygdala, cortex, corpus mamillare, gyrus cinguli, and hypothalamus) were significant differences observed between these two groups. In the total group, region-specific differences were found for iron, copper, zinc, and calcium, but not for magnesium. Gender differences were observed only for zinc. There was no correlation between a neuroleptic-free period before death and the content of any of the metals investigated, except for a positive correlation between copper in the hippocampus and a neuroleptic-free period. The results of the present study suggest that there are no profound differences in the content of iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, and calcium in postmortem brains between controls and schizophrenic patients.