Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036341 (schizophrenia)
 60,220 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Positron-emission tomography (PET), a noninvasive analytical method, made possible the detection of regional alterations in the central nervous system, thus demonstrating "in vivo" the presence of biochemical alterations and the organization of cerebral function in the pathological states. The study of glucose cerebral metabolism velocity, performed recently with the aid of PET, reveals that in the patients with thymic disorders the values recorded for the bipolar syndromes differ from those recorded the for unipolar ones. At the same time, the direct measurement of the activity of the neuroanatomic structures involved in schizophrenia and their response to neuroleptics was possible. This technique and the F-fluoro-desixiglucose method were also applied to the patients with Alzheimer's disease, multi-infarct dementia, Huntington's disease. Wilson's disease and Parkinson's disease. Suggestive alterations of glucose metabolism velocity were noticed and the neuroanatomic structures involved in the pathological manifestations could be specified.
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PMID:[The use of positron-emission tomography in psychiatry]. 198 25

A prospective neuropsychiatric study of 31 consecutive subjects with Wilson's disease is reported. Exploratory factor analysis yielded four factors: neurological, cognitive, hepatic/depressive and psychiatric. Significant associations were found between a 'psychopathic' personality factor and neurological and dysarthria scores. The d' and beta coefficients of a signal-detection memory task dissociated: the former correlated only with Mini-Mental State and Benton visuospatial task; and the latter with depressive symptoms. Using discriminant function analysis, there was efficient classification of 'psychopathic' personality by dysarthria, and of individual depressive symptoms by disturbance of gait. Biochemical markers of hepatic dysfunction were significantly associated with certain depressive symptoms. No evidence emerged to support the putative association with schizophrenia-like psychosis.
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PMID:Wilson's disease: a prospective study of psychopathology in 31 cases. 259 16

The authors used the MMPI to assess psychopathology in neurologically impaired and neurologically asymptomatic patients with Wilson's disease. Neurologically impaired patients showed more psychopathology on the schizophrenia and depression scales and had a significantly higher rate of severe depression.
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PMID:Psychopathology in patients with Wilson's disease. 271 73

A variety of psychiatric symptoms have been described in relation to Wilson's disease, an inherited disorder of copper metabolism. At least four symptom clusters can be identified: affective, behavioural/personality, schizophrenia-like, and cognitive; the first two groups appear to be the commonest. Four cases (three newly reported) are described, and current approaches to the psychiatric management of Wilson's disease discussed.
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PMID:Psychiatric aspects of Wilson's disease. 383 Mar 28

The total content of zinc in the adult human body averages almost 2 g. This is approximately half the total iron content and 10 to 15 times the total body copper. In the brain, zinc is with iron, the most concentrated metal. The highest levels of zinc are found in the hippocampus in synaptic vesicles, boutons, and mossy fibers. Zinc is also found in large concentrations in the choroid layer of the retina which is an extension of the brain. Zinc plays an important role in axonal and synaptic transmission and is necessary for nucleic acid metabolism and brain tubulin growth and phosphorylation. Lack of zinc has been implicated in impaired DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis during brain development. For these reasons, deficiency of zinc during pregnancy and lactation has been shown to be related to many congenital abnormalities of the nervous system in offspring. Furthermore, in children insufficient levels of zinc have been associated with lowered learning ability, apathy, lethargy, and mental retardation. Hyperactive children may be deficient in zinc and vitamin B-6 and have an excess of lead and copper. Alcoholism, schizophrenia, Wilson's disease, and Pick's disease are brain disorders dynamically related to zinc levels. Zinc has been employed with success to treat Wilson's disease, achrodermatitis enteropathica, and specific types of schizophrenia.
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PMID:Zinc, the brain and behavior. 708 16

Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the brain has been used to define functional abnormalities in two groups of childhood behavior disorders: (1) a "primary" category in which there is exclusive or predominant presentation with cognitive and/or behavioral dysfunction and (2) encephalopathies, often defined etiologically at the biochemical or molecular level, in which clinical expression includes, but is not confined to, neural dysfunction. Radiopharmaceuticals available for such studies are manifold, but those used to date have been predominantly perfusion agents, eg, Xenon-133 (133Xe) and technetium-99m (99mTc) hexamethylpropylene amine oxime, and studies with [99mTc]bicisate are eagerly awaited. Xenon-133 studies require that the patient be in the field of view of the detector while the tracer is administered. This renders it difficult for a subject to perform cognitive and other exercises while being imaged, because the environment is quite foreign. On the other hand, the 99mTc-labeled perfusion agents permit a scintigraphic "snapshot" of regional cerebral blood flow during a behavioral event without having to have the patient under the imaging instrument. Thus, one can separate the administration of the radiotracer, which can be done under more controlled and physiological conditions, from the actual imaging. In addition, greater spatial resolution is achieved with the technetium-based agents. Currently, multidetector or dedicated annular crystal-type cameras are the preferred brain SPECT devices, and they are essential to applications such as cortical "activation mapping" or tomographic detection of receptor systems. Close attention to technical detail and standardization of the child's behavioral environment during the investigation are critical to a successful study. The relative advantages and disadvantages of qualitative versus semiquantitative analysis of imaging date are reviewed. Among primary behavioral disorders, 133Xe SPECT studies in attention deficit disorder-hyperactivity (ADHD) have suggested a pattern of hypoperfusion of striatal and periventricular structures with sensorimotor cortical hyperperfusion. This pattern is consistent with some neurophysiological models of the disorder. In cerebral palsy, perfusional abnormalities have paralleled clinical deficits and may offer information to help predict outcome. The important field of childhood affective disorders (schizophrenia, juvenile autism, depression, etc) remains largely unstudied with SPECT. Finally, representative examples of the use of SPECT to study perfusion in encephalopathies with behavioral expression (phenylketonuria, MELAS (mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes) syndrome, Wilson's disease, etc) are given.
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PMID:Brain single-photon emission computed tomography for behavior disorders in children. 837 98

A consecutive series of 34 patients with confirmed diagnoses of Wilson's disease (WD) was administered complete neuropsychological examinations upon admission to a university medical center for routine laboratory tests. Twenty-five patients with neurological and/or hepatic symptoms (symptomatics) revealed frequent and severe motor deficits and infrequent and mild cognitive deficits in contrast to nine patients with genetic findings of Wilson's disease but no symptomatic findings (asymptomatics). Somato-sensory tests were normal in all. One of the most intriguing findings was the absence of a significant correlation between the level of copper toxicity and the degree, nature, and frequency of associated neurological deficits in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Fifty per cent of the present sample received psychiatric treatment, including hospitalization, for schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and related disorders prior to confirmed diagnosis of WD. The present findings provide additional evidence that patients with the initial presenting psychological symptoms may be easily misdiagnosed and mistreated if the possibilities of Wilson's disease are not ruled out first.
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PMID:Neuropsychological aspects of Wilson's disease. 873 60

We report a young adult female case of Wilson's disease presenting with mental disorder and frontal lobe signs. The patient was admitted to our neurological unit on October 4, 1999 because of schizophrenia-like symptom, dysphagia, dysarthria and gait disturbance. She showed slowly progressive rigidity and dystonia. Her parents were the second cousins. Neurological examination revealed bilateral pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs, frontal lobe signs (include the imitation behavior). Tendon reflexes were slightly exaggerated in all extremities. Bilateral Babinski, Chaddock and Hoffmann signs were positive. Her verbal IQ on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-revised was 49. Biochemical examination revealed low plasma copper and ceruloplasmin concentration. Cerebrospinal fluid was normal. Cranial MRI demonstrated diffuse brain atrophy and enlargement of the lateral ventricles. T2-weighted images of the MRI demonstrated hyperintense signal in both thalamus and basal ganglia. SPECT showed hypoperfusion in the left frontal lobe, both thalamus and basal ganglia. EEG revealed diffuse theta wave. The diagnosis of Wilson's disease was made and the treatment of D-penicillamine 900 mg per day was started. This hypoperfusion of SPECT and EEG findings improved after 2 months under D-penicillamine therapy. Neurological findings showed slight improvement. A few Wilson's disease patients presenting with mental disorder have been reported. Wilson's disease should always be considered in differential diagnosis of mental disorders. We emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of Wilson's disease.
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PMID:[A young adult female case of Wilson's disease presenting with mental disorder and frontal lobe signs]. 1108 96

Zinc has several crucial functions in brain development and maintenance: it binds to p53, preventing it from binding to supercoiled DNA and ensuring that p53 cause the expression of several paramount genes, such as the one that encodes for the type I receptors to pituitary adenine cylase-activator peptide (PACAP), which directs embryonic development of the brain cortex, adrenal glands, etc.; it is required for the production of CuZnSOD and Zn-thionein, which are essential to prevent oxidative damage; it is required for many proteins, some of them with Zn fingers, many of them essential enzymes for growth and homeostasis. For example, the synthesis of serotonin involves Zn enzymes and since serotonin is necessary for melatonin synthesis, a Zn deficiency may result in low levels of both hormones. Unfortunately, Zn levels tend to be low when there is excess Cu and Cd. Moreover, high estrogen levels tend to cause increased absorption of Cu and Cd, and smoking and eating food contaminated with Cd result in high levels of the latter. Furthermore, ethanol ingestion increases the elimination of Zn and Mg (which acts as a cofactor for CuZnSOD). Increased Cu levels may also be found in people with Wilson's disease, which is a rather rare disease. However, the heterozygote form (only one faulty copy of the chromosome) is not so rare. Therefore, the developing fetus of a pregnant women who is low in Zn and high in Cu may experience major difficulties in the early development of the brain, which may later manifest themselves as schizophrenia, autism or epilepsy. Similarly, a person who gradually accumulates Cu, will tend to experience a gradual depletion of Zn, with a corresponding increase in oxidative damage, eventually leading to Parkinson's disease. Also discussed are the crucial roles of histidine, histamine, vitamin D, essential fatty acids, vitamin E, peroxynitrate, etc. in the possible oxidative damage involved in these mental diseases.
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PMID:Micronutrient accumulation and depletion in schizophrenia, epilepsy, autism and Parkinson's disease? 1138 83

As ceruloplasmin and copper abnormalities have been implicated in schizophrenia, we investigated the role of a second copper-containing non-ceruloplasmin protein, the iron oxidase ferroxidase II, in a prospective study of ten inpatients with schizophrenia and a comparison group. Ferroxidase II is a protein known to reciprocally regulate with ceruloplasmin in Wilson's disease, an illness characterized by psychotic symptoms, decreased ceruloplasmin, and increased copper deposition in tissues. Ferroxidase II plays a key role in the maintenance of near-normal iron metabolism in Wilson's disease, but its role in schizophrenia has never been studied. In this study, we assayed ceruloplasmin by two enzymatic assays, a standard clinical laboratory p-phenylenediamine oxidation assay and a second assay based on the rate of the oxidation and incorporation of iron (Fe3+) into transferrin; we assayed ferroxidase II activity using this second iron oxidation assay. We found that ceruloplasmin levels as measured by both enzymatic methods, but not ferroxidase II, were elevated in schizophrenia. The increased ceruloplasmin also correlated with elevated serum copper as assayed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, which was unsurprising as the majority of copper in blood is bound to ceruloplasmin. It has been proposed that copper, as a component of several enzymes linked to dopamine synthesis, may play a role in schizophrenia by exacerbating or perpetuating dopaminergic dysregulation. Our study suggests that the ceruloplasmin elevation in schizophrenia is specific, and not simply an elevation of plasma copper-containing oxidative enzymes. Increases in ceruloplasmin may result in increased levels of copper, which ultimately proves deleterious in schizophrenia.
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PMID:Plasma copper, iron, ceruloplasmin and ferroxidase activity in schizophrenia. 1684 75


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