TY - JOUR
T1 - Circulatory neurosteroid levels in smoking and non-smoking chronic schizophrenia patients
AU - Iancu, Iulian
AU - Tchernihovsky, Eleonora
AU - Maayan, Rachel
AU - Poreh, Amir
AU - Dannon, Pinhas
AU - Kotler, Moshe
AU - Weizman, Abraham
AU - Strous, Rael D.
PY - 2007/7
Y1 - 2007/7
N2 - Introduction: Schizophrenia patients display an extremely high rate of smoking. Neurosteroids appear to play a possible role in the pathophysiology and management of schizophrenia and have been proposed to be involved in the pathophysiology of nicotine addiction. Although many studies have evaluated blood levels of neurosteroids in schizophrenia patients, only a few studies have taken into consideration the effect of smoking on levels of neurosteroids in the illness. Methods: Forty-five DSM-IV-TR chronic schizophrenia patients were sampled for plasma levels of three steroids: cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S). Patients were rated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and provided data on their smoking behavior. Results: The mean level of plasma cortisol in our sample (N = 45) was 197.9 nmol/L (S.D. = 81.5), and the levels of DHEA and DHEA-S were 23 nmol/L (S.D. = 5.5) and 4276.6 nmol/L (S.D. =2665.58), respectively. Despite a trend for lower levels of cortisol, DHEA and DHEA-S among the smokers, only DHEA, but not DHEA-S and cortisol, was significantly lower among the smokers (33% decrease, p = 0.012). Smoking predicted the positive and negative scores of the PANSS, whereas cortisol was correlated with the PANSS-negative subscale. Conclusions: Smoking in chronic schizophrenia patients appears to be associated with lower DHEA levels. The role of this decrease in the pathophysiology of nicotine addiction and schizophrenia merits further investigation.
AB - Introduction: Schizophrenia patients display an extremely high rate of smoking. Neurosteroids appear to play a possible role in the pathophysiology and management of schizophrenia and have been proposed to be involved in the pathophysiology of nicotine addiction. Although many studies have evaluated blood levels of neurosteroids in schizophrenia patients, only a few studies have taken into consideration the effect of smoking on levels of neurosteroids in the illness. Methods: Forty-five DSM-IV-TR chronic schizophrenia patients were sampled for plasma levels of three steroids: cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S). Patients were rated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and provided data on their smoking behavior. Results: The mean level of plasma cortisol in our sample (N = 45) was 197.9 nmol/L (S.D. = 81.5), and the levels of DHEA and DHEA-S were 23 nmol/L (S.D. = 5.5) and 4276.6 nmol/L (S.D. =2665.58), respectively. Despite a trend for lower levels of cortisol, DHEA and DHEA-S among the smokers, only DHEA, but not DHEA-S and cortisol, was significantly lower among the smokers (33% decrease, p = 0.012). Smoking predicted the positive and negative scores of the PANSS, whereas cortisol was correlated with the PANSS-negative subscale. Conclusions: Smoking in chronic schizophrenia patients appears to be associated with lower DHEA levels. The role of this decrease in the pathophysiology of nicotine addiction and schizophrenia merits further investigation.
KW - Addiction
KW - Neurosteroids
KW - Nicotine
KW - PANSS
KW - Schizophrenia
KW - Smoking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34248592529&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2007.02.001
DO - 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2007.02.001
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C2 - 17346944
AN - SCOPUS:34248592529
SN - 0924-977X
VL - 17
SP - 541
EP - 545
JO - European Neuropsychopharmacology
JF - European Neuropsychopharmacology
IS - 8
ER -