Homocysteine and MTHFR C677T polymorphism in children and adolescents with psychotic and mood disorders

• Published in: Nordic journal of psychiatry 2014-02, Vol.68 (2), p.129-136
• Main Authors: Kevere, Laura, Purvina, Santa, Bauze, Daiga, Zeibarts, Marcis, Andrezina, Raisa, Piekuse, Linda, Brekis, Edgars, Purvins, Indulis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Base Sequence; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child psychiatry; DNA Primers; Female; Homocysteine; Homocysteine - blood; Humans; Male; Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) - genetics; Mood disorders; Mood Disorders - blood; Mood Disorders - genetics; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Genetic; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - blood; Schizophrenia - genetics; Vitamin B 12 - blood
• ISSN: 0803-9488; 1502-4725
• DOI: 10.3109/08039488.2013.782066

Abstract Background : High level of homocysteine (Hcy) is risk factor of schizophrenia and mood disorders. Aim: The aim was to detect a serum level of Hcy, examine the associations between the level of Hcy, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T polymorphism and clinical properties for patients with schizophrenia, mood disorders and in a control group. Material and methods: There were 88 patients with schizophrenia, 28 with affective disorders and 94 from the control group. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) was performed to study anxiety, the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) to study depression and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) to study severity of schizophrenia. The level of Hcy was stated by isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system with fluorometric detection. DNA isolation from venous blood was performed by the phenol-chloroform method. Results: The levels of B12 vitamin and folic acid were within normal limits for all the patients. The average level of Hcy was 11.94 ± 5.6 μmol/l for patients with schizophrenia and 11.65 ± 3.3 μmol/l for patients with affective disorders, vs. 6.80 ± 2.93 μmol/l in a control group. The highest level of Hcy has been observed in patients with an episodic-recurrent course of schizophrenia, paranoid schizophrenia-continuous, particularly in patients with CT genotype (r = − 0.58; P < 0.01). In the given diagnostic groups, the highest level of anxiety was observed. Conclusions: The level of Hcy is higher in the blood of a heterozygotic person who becomes ill with schizophrenia, and the process of the illness is more serious and with more typical affective disorders.