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Plasma nitrate levels in deficit versus non-deficit forms of schizophrenia
Eiji Suzuki1, Toshio Nakaki, Makoto Nakamura
1Department of Psychiatry, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan. e-suzuki@kitasato-u.ac.jp
Objective:
To determine whether nitric oxide production levels differ in patients with deficit and non-deficit forms of schizophrenia.
Methods:
We investigated plasma nitrate levels, an index of in vivo nitric oxide production, in patients with deficit syndrome (n = 11) and non-deficit syndrome (n = 14) and healthy controls (n = 12) with a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography and the Griess reaction.
Results:
There was no difference found in mean plasma nitrite levels, but plasma nitrate levels of patients with deficit syndrome were significantly lower than those with non-deficit syndrome (28.0 [SEM 2.5] micromol/L v. 44.2 [SEM 5.5] micromol/L, p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
A decline in nitric oxide production may be involved in primary negative symptoms in schizophrenia.