Abstract

STUDY OF BIOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

*Dr. Mitchelle C.V. Menezes, Dr. Chitra Y. Dhume and Dr. Aparna Pai

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions or disorganized speech or thinking and it is accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction. Gonadal hormones have recently been implicated in the psychopathology, sex differences in onset, prognosis and treatment of schizophrenia, also there is increasing evidence that oxidative injury contributes to pathophysiology of Schizophrenia. Hence, the present study investigated the effects of serum levels of Testosterone, FSH, LH, Prolactin and assessed the oxidative stress in patients with schizophrenia by measuring serum Malonaldehyde levels and their antioxidant status by measuring blood levels of Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Reduced Glutathione and β- Carotene in a group of sixty patients. The study was conducted over a period of 18 months in the Goa Medical College and the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour. Diagnosis of Schizophrenia was made using the ICD-10 classification. A control group of sixty healthy subjects was recruited. As compared to matched controls, the acutely admitted patients suffering from Schizophrenia exhibited low serum levels of the reproductive hormones suggesting a possible role for hormones in the psychopathology of the disease and increased lipid peroxidation products and decreased antioxidants namely Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Reduced Glutathione and β-Carotene suggesting that the oxidative damage that occurs in Schizophrenic patients exhausts the antioxidant defense of the body leading to low levels of antioxidants.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, Oxidative stress, Antioxidants, Testosterone, Prolactin.