Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity in twins discordant for schizophrenia

Elevated striatal dopamine synthesis capacity is thought to be fundamental to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and has also been reported in people at risk of psychosis. It is therefore unclear if striatal hyperdopaminergia is a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia, or a state feature related...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological medicine 2011-11, Vol.41 (11), p.2331-2338
Main Authors: Shotbolt, P., Stokes, P. R., Owens, S. F., Toulopoulou, T., Picchioni, M. M., Bose, S. K., Murray, R. M., Howes, O. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Biomarkers - metabolism
Case-Control Studies
Chemical synthesis
Co-twins
Corpus Striatum - metabolism
Diseases in Twins - metabolism
Dopamine
Dopamine - biosynthesis
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Positron-Emission Tomography
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychoses
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - metabolism
Twins
Vulnerability
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Summary:Elevated striatal dopamine synthesis capacity is thought to be fundamental to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and has also been reported in people at risk of psychosis. It is therefore unclear if striatal hyperdopaminergia is a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia, or a state feature related to the psychosis itself. Relatives of patients with schizophrenia are themselves at increased risk of developing the condition. In this study we examined striatal dopamine synthesis capacity in both members of twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia. In vivo striatal dopamine synthesis capacity was examined using fluorine-18-l-dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-DOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) scans in seven twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia and in a control sample of 10 healthy control twin pairs. Striatal 18F-DOPA uptake was not elevated in the unaffected co-twins of patients with schizophrenia (p=0.65) or indeed in the twins with schizophrenia (p=0.89) compared to the control group. Levels of psychotic symptoms were low in the patients with schizophrenia who were in general stable [mean (s.d.) Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total=56.8 (25.5)] whereas the unaffected co-twins were largely asymptomatic. Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity is not elevated in symptom-free individuals at genetic risk of schizophrenia, or in well-treated stable patients with chronic schizophrenia. These findings suggest that striatal hyperdopaminergia is not a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia.
ISSN:0033-2917
1469-8978
DOI:10.1017/S0033291711000341