Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and treatment response relationship in male patients with first-episode schizophrenia: a controlled study.

Nitric oxide (NO) is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia as well as many neuropsychiatric disease. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) reduces the level of NO by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzyme. In this study it is aimed to be investigated ADMA in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. In this study, according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia-like psychotic disorder, 49 male first-episode schizophrenia patients-whose mean age was 23.4±3.5 year-and age and education matched 30 healthy male subjects were included for comparison. ADMA levels of the patients were measured before and after 2 months of therapy. In order to rule out the conditions that may affect the levels of ADMA, people whose physical examination and laboratory findings were within normal range were included in the study. In this study plasma ADMA levels of first-episode schizophrenia patients and control group were 3.6±1.5 µmol/L and 1.02±1.02 respectively. After 2 months of antipsychotic treatment plasma ADMA levels of the schizophrenia patients decreased compared to baseline. There was no relationship between the ADMA levels and the clinical severity of the disease. It is considered to be the role of ADMA in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia.