Higher levels of serum copper in schizophrenic patients treated with depot neuroleptics

The findings of previous research on the status of trace elements in patients with schizophrenia have been controversial. We studied 62 outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia, and compared them with sex- and age-matched healthy controls. Serum copper levels were significantly higher in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry research 2000-04, Vol.94 (1), p.51-58
Main Authors: Herrán, Andrés, García-Unzueta, María Teresa, Fernández-González, María Dolores, Vázquez-Barquero, José Luis, Alvarez, Concepción, Amado, Jose Antonio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Case-control study
Copper
Copper - blood
Delayed-Action Preparations
Drug toxicity and drugs side effects treatment
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Mental disorders
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychoses
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - blood
Schizophrenia - drug therapy
Toxicity: blood
Trace elements
Zinc
Zinc - blood
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Summary:The findings of previous research on the status of trace elements in patients with schizophrenia have been controversial. We studied 62 outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia, and compared them with sex- and age-matched healthy controls. Serum copper levels were significantly higher in schizophrenic patients (mean 117.4 μg/dl; S.D. 23.4) than in healthy controls (105.6±27.9). Those patients on treatment with depot neuroleptics had higher copper levels. Zinc levels did not differ between patients and healthy controls. Altered levels of trace elements in schizophrenic patients may be a consequence of antipsychotic treatment.
ISSN:0165-1781
1872-7123
DOI:10.1016/S0165-1781(00)00126-8