Journal ArticleDOI
Membrane fatty acids, niacin flushing and clinical parameters
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TLDR
Patients were selected for their negative symptoms and, therefore, it was not surprising that further measures of negative or positive symptoms did not predict flushing, but an increased score for affective symptoms was significantly associated with a positive flush response.Abstract:
Clinical definitions of schizophrenia are unreliable and difficult to use. The niacin flush test, which involves prostaglandin-induced vasodilatation, offers a method of exploring essential fatty acid metabolism in schizophrenic patients and may serve to define a subgroup of patients. In a multicentre study of schizophrenic patients with negative symptoms, we have examined the clinical accompaniments of the niacin response. Patients failing to flush with niacin showed significantly reduced levels of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids. Conversion from non-flushing to flushing during the 6 month supplementation period was predicted by an increase in arachidonic acid levels in red blood cell membranes irrespective of nature of supplementation. In this study, patients were selected for their negative symptoms and, therefore, it was not surprising that further measures of negative or positive symptoms did not predict flushing. However, an increased score for affective symptoms was significantly associated with a positive flush response. The stability of the niacin test needs to be examined in relation to the periodicity of symptoms in schizophrenia and manic depressive illness. New information on the anandamide system suggests that it may be associated with periodic phenomena and should be investigated in relation to the niacin test.read more
Citations
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The membrane phospholipid hypothesis as a biochemical basis for the neurodevelopmental concept of schizophrenia
TL;DR: It is suggested that the membrane phospholipid hypothesis can provide such a biochemical basis and that the neurodevelopmental phospholIPid concept offers a powerful paradigm to guide future research.
Journal ArticleDOI
Essential fatty acids, lipid membrane abnormalities, and the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia
TL;DR: The most consistent clinical findings include red blood cell fatty acid membrane abnormalities, NMR spectroscopy evidence of increased phospholipid turnover and a therapeutic effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation of neuroleptic treatment in some schizophrenia patients.
Journal ArticleDOI
A dose-ranging exploratory study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with persistent schizophrenic symptoms.
Malcolm Peet,David F. Horrobin +1 more
TL;DR: In patients given 2 g/day E-E there were improvements on the PANSS and its sub-scales, but there was also a large placebo effect in patients on typical and new atypical antipsychotics and no difference between active treatment and placebo.
Journal ArticleDOI
Membrane phospholipid abnormalities in postmortem brains from schizophrenic patients
TL;DR: The present findings suggest that deficits identified in peripheral membranes may also be present in the brain from schizophrenic patients, and such a deficit in membrane AA may contribute to the many biological, physiological, and clinical phenomena observed in schizophrenia.
Journal ArticleDOI
Significantly reduced docosahexaenoic and docosapentaenoic acid concentrations in erythrocyte membranes from schizophrenic patients compared with a carefully matched control group
Johanna Assies,Ritsaert Lieverse,Peter Vreken,Ron J. A. Wanders,P.M. Dingemans,Don H. Linszen +5 more
TL;DR: No consistent pattern emerged from the different fatty acid abnormalities and the clinical symptom scores, and the differences were not due to diet or hormonal status and could be explained by the medication or cannabis use.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
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TL;DR: In this article, an arachidonylethanthanolamide (anandamide) was identified in a screen for endogenous ligands for the cannabinoid receptor and its structure was determined by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and confirmed by synthesis.
Journal ArticleDOI
Negative v positive schizophrenia. Definition and validation.
TL;DR: Criteria for dividing the schizophrenic syndrome into three subtypes was developed: positive, negative, and mixed schizophrenia, and significant differences were noted using external validators such as premorbid adjustment, indices of cognitive dysfunction, ventricular brain ratio, and course in hospital.
Journal ArticleDOI
Formation and inactivation of endogenous cannabinoid anandamide in central neurons.
V. Di Marzo,Angelo Fontana,Hugues Cadas,S. Schinelli,Guido Cimino,J.-C. Schwartz,Daniele Piomelli +6 more
TL;DR: It is reported that anandamide is produced in and released from cultured brain neurons in a calcium ion-dependent manner when the neurons are stimulated with membrane-depolarizing agents, indicating that multiple biochemical pathways may participate in an andamide formation in brain tissue.