Psychiatry Research EG

Introduction There is strong evidence that oxygen-free radicals may play an important role in the pathophysiology of major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to detect the difference in the level of total glutathione (GSH) in serum samples of schizophrenic patients compared with bipolar patients and healthy controls, and assess any significant correlation between the level of GSH and clinical findings. Patients and methods This is a case–control cross-sectional study that included a sample of 30 schizophrenic patients and 30 patients with bipolar I disorder (manic, depressive, mixed episode) who were compared with 30 healthy controls well matched for age, sex, educational level, and marital state. All patients were recruited from the Kasr Al Aini psychiatric outpatient clinic and inpatient department. This was a cross-sectional case–control study. Psychometric procedure The Young Mania Rating Scale, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale were used. Serum samples were evaluated for level of GSH. Results There were statistically significant differences between controls and both patients with schizophrenia and those with bipolar I disorder in terms of serum level of total GSH, but no significant differences between the two patient groups. There was significant negative correlation between GSH and both negative symptoms and number of hospital admissions in the schizophrenic group. There was significant negative correlation between GSH level and both aging and duration of illness in the bipolar disorder group, and significant positive correlation between GSH and manic-mixed episode in the bipolar group. There was significant positive correlation between smoking and GSH in the control group but no significant correlation between the level of GSH and smoking in the schizophrenic group or bipolar group. Conclusion This preliminary study detects low levels of serum GSH in both schizophrenic and bipolar patients compared with controls. Thus, total GSH seems to play a role in the pathophysiology of these disorders and it may be considered an important indirect biomarker for the oxidative stress theory in these patients for further studies and investigation in a large group sample. Keywords: bipolar, glutathione, schizophrenia