Skin ceramide alterations in first-episode schizophrenia indicate abnormal sphingolipid metabolism.

ABSTRACT: There is considerable evidence for specific pathology of lipid metabolism in schizophrenia, affecting polyunsaturated fatty acids and in particular sphingolipids. These deficits are assumed to interfere with neuronal membrane functioning and the development and maintenance of myelin sheaths. Recent studies suggest that some of these lipid pathologies might also be detected in peripheral skin tests. In this study, we examined different skin lipids and their relation to schizophrenia. We assessed epidermal lipid profiles in 22 first-episode antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients and 22 healthy controls matched for age and gender using a hexan/ethanol extraction technique and combined high-performance thin-layer chromatography/gas-chromatography. We found highly significant increase of ce

SUBMITTER: Smesny S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3686445 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature