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)

Recently developed enzyme tests that are used in (a) identifying high risk populations, (b) diagnosing cancer, (c) following treatment response of cancer patients, and (d) the selection of cancer therapy are summarized. The diagnostic role of methionine adenosyltransferase and CSF monoamine oxidase activity measurements in the diagnosis of schizophrenia are discussed. The role of N-acetyltransferase in the conversion of serotonin to melatonin in the pineal gland and the importance of these changes for the synchronization of the functioning of cells throughout the organism are described. New developments in the determination of immunoreactive trypsin in the early diagnosis of pancreatic diseases are summarized.
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PMID:Present and future trends in selected areas of clinical enzymology. 677 51

Schizophrenia is characterized by complex and dynamically interacting perturbations in multiple neurochemical systems. In the past, evidence for these alterations has been collected piecemeal, limiting our understanding of the interactions among relevant biological systems. Earlier, both hyper- and hyposerotonemia were variously associated with the longitudinal course of schizophrenia, suggesting a disturbance in the central serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)) function. Using a targeted electrochemistry-based metabolomics platform, we compared metabolic signatures consisting of 13 plasma tryptophan (Trp) metabolites simultaneously between first-episode neuroleptic-naive patients with schizophrenia (FENNS, n=25) and healthy controls (HC, n=30). We also compared these metabolites between FENNS at baseline (BL) and 4 weeks (4w) after antipsychotic treatment. N-acetylserotonin was increased in FENNS-BL compared with HC (P=0.0077, which remained nearly significant after Bonferroni correction). N-acetylserotonin/Trp and melatonin (Mel)/serotonin ratios were higher, and Mel/N-acetylserotonin ratio was lower in FENNS-BL (all P-values<0.0029), but not after treatment, compared with HC volunteers. All three groups had highly significant correlations between Trp and its metabolites, Mel, kynurenine, 3-hydroxykynurenine and tryptamine. However, in the HC, but in neither of the FENNS groups, serotonin was highly correlated with Trp, Mel, kynurenine or tryptamine, and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA) was highly correlated with Trp, Mel, kynurenine or 3-hydroxykynurenine. A significant difference between HC and FENNS-BL was further shown only for the Trp-5HIAA correlation. Thus, some metabolite interactions within the Trp pathway seem to be altered in the FENNS-BL patients. Conversion of serotonin to N-acetylserotonin by serotonin N-acetyltransferase may be upregulated in FENNS patients, possibly related to the observed alteration in Trp-5HIAA correlation. Considering N-acetylserotonin as a potent antioxidant, such increases in N-acetylserotonin might be a compensatory response to increased oxidative stress, implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
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PMID:Altered interactions of tryptophan metabolites in first-episode neuroleptic-naive patients with schizophrenia. 1940 81

Treatment-resistance in schizophrenia remains a public health problem: about 20% to 30% of patients do not respond to antipsychotic therapy. Clozapine has been shown to be effective in about one-third of patients, but the medical risks and weekly blood tests limit its broad application. While the heterogeneity of the disease and the duration of untreated psychosis are important, pharmacogenomic aspects must also be considered. Pharmacogenomic investigations offer the opportunity to individualize antipsychotic therapy according to the growing knowledge of the function and effect of the genetic polymorphisms that affect the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antipsychotics. On the pharmacokinetic level, polymorphic phase I and II drug-metabolizing enzymes and transport proteins affect drug concentration at the target structure. The cytochrome P450 enzymes, N-acetyltransferase, and multidrug resistance protein (MDR1) particularly influence this parameter. Genetic alterations affecting drug pharmacodynamic properties have an impact on therapeutic outcome that is generally independent of the applied dosage regimen. A combined analysis of genetic polymorphisms in the dopaminergic and serotonergic receptors, neurotransmitter transporters, and other target structures involved in psychiatric disorders is already a powerful predictor of therapeutic outcome. An understanding of other factors influencing gene expression and protein production will facilitate individualized therapy in the future.
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PMID:Differing response to antipsychotic therapy in schizophrenia: pharmacogenomic aspects. 2203 53