Study of Serum Selenium Levels in Schizophrenic Patients.
Loading...
Date
2014-11
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Deficiency and excess amount of trace
elements play an important role in several well recognized
diseases, studies are going on to establish their role in
schizophrenia. Selenium and other trace elements are
indispensable components for certain enzymes responsible
for various metabolic processes in different tissues including
the brain as they play important functional roles in peripheral
and central nervous systems. Objectives: In this study, we
examined the levels of selenium in serum of patients of
schizophrenia and compare them with normal healthy
controls. Selenium was also measured in acute and chronic
stage of schizophrenia categorized on the basis of PANSS
score and correlated by Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient
(ρ) in total cases, acute cases and chronic cases. Method:
The study population comprised 150 patients and 150 age
matched controls. We measured levels of Selenium by AAS
(Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer). Results: We found
that selenium levels were significantly lower in patients with
schizophrenia than in the control group. The levels of
micronutrients studied were also correlated with disease
severity and duration but found non-significant relation.
Conclusion: Evaluation of selenium levels in patients with
schizophrenia could prove useful. There may be role of
Selenium in the pathogenesis and course of Schizophrenia
and new therapeutic approaches warrants further study.
Description
Keywords
trace elements, selenium, schizophrenia, PANSS, AAS
Citation
Sharma Santosh K, Sharma Atul, Sood Sadhna, Gupta I D. Study of Serum Selenium Levels in Schizophrenic Patients. Indian Medical Gazette. 2014 Nov ; 148 (11): 403-407.