Oxidative injury and potential use of antioxidants in schizophrenia.

There is increasing evidence that oxidative injury contributes to pathophysiology of schizophrenia, indicated by the increased lipid peroxidation products in plasma and CSF, and altered levels of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in chronic and drug-naive first-episode schizophrenic patients. The increased plasma lipid peroxidation is also supported by concomitant lower levels of esterified polyunsaturated essential fatty acids of red blood cell plasma membrane phospholipids. Because membrane phospholipids play a critical role in neuronal signal transduction, oxidative damage of these lipids may contribute to the proposed altered neurotransmitter receptor-mediated signal transduction and thereby alter information processing in schizophrenia. Adjunctive treatment with antioxidants (e.g. vitamins E and C, beta-carotene and quinones) at the initial stages of illness may prevent further oxidative injury and thereby ameliorate and prevent further possible deterioration of associated neurological and behavioral deficits in schizophrenia.