Psychiatry Research EG

The aim of this study is to look for any changes of some trace elements (Magnesium, Copper and Zink) in the serum of schizophrenics and to determine if such changes have relation to central atrophy detected by CT (done in our previous work). We aim also to study the effect of neuroleptics on trace elements. The material of this study included 60 schizophrenics and 20 controls. The results revealed the following : 1 – Serum levels of magnesium and copper in schizophrenics were significantly increased than the controls, while serum zinc was significantly decreased in patients compared to controls. 2 – Seruù level of magnesium and copper were significantly increased in schizophrenics with central atrophy (detected by the width of the 3rd ventricle in CT), while serum zinc showed no significant difference in patients with or without central atrophy. 3 – Patients receiving long acting neuroleptics showed significant decrease in serum copper of schizophrenics, while they had no significant influence on serum magnesium and zinc.