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Volume 115, Issue 2, Pages 209-214 (December 2009)


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Reduced cerebrospinal fluid and plasma nerve growth factor in drug-naïve psychotic patients

Anvita Kalea, Sadhana Joshia, Anilkumar Pillaibc, Nilesh Naphaded, MSVK Rajud, Henry Nasrallahe, Sahebarao P. MahadikbcCorresponding Author Informationemail address

Received 3 February 2009; received in revised form 15 July 2009; accepted 19 July 2009. published online 27 August 2009.

Abstract 

Impaired expression and function of several major neurotrophic factors such as nerve growth factor (NGF) has been proposed to contribute to the neurodevelopmental pathology of schizophrenia. However, the evidence in the majority of studies is based on variable and inconsistent levels of plasma NGF in diverse populations of early psychosis or medicated patients with chronic schizophrenia. We report here the first study comparing NGF levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma from a unique patient cohort (unmedicated, early psychotic patients with similar racial and dietary patterns) and matched healthy controls. Significantly lower levels of NGF in both CSF (p=0.038) and plasma (p=0.002) were observed in drug-naïve first-episode psychosis patients as compared to controls. The levels of NGF in the CSF correlated (p=0.05) to the plasma values in controls. The data on plasma NGF confirm the reported deficits of NGF in drug-naïve first-episode psychosis. The reduced levels first time observed here may have important implications to repeatedly reported neurobiological and clinical deficits which are discussed.

a Interactive Research School for Health Affairs, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune 411043, India

b Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, Medical College of Georgia, USA

c Medical Research Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center Augusta, GA, USA

d Department of Psychiatry, Bharati Medical College, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune 411043, India

e Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Medical College of Georgia and Medical Research Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center Augusta, GA, USA. Tel.: +1 706 733 0188; fax: +1 706 823 3949.

PII: S0920-9964(09)00337-5

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2009.07.022


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