Selected neuroendocrine factors as potential molecular biomarkers of early non-affective psychosis course in relation to treatment outcome: A pilot study
Marie Obdržálková,
Libor Ustohal,
Nataša Hlaváčová,
Michaela Mayerová,
Eva Češková,
Tomáš Kašpárek,
Daniela Ježová
Affiliations
Marie Obdržálková
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Libor Ustohal
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Jihlavská 20, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic.
Nataša Hlaváčová
Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
Michaela Mayerová
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Eva Češková
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Tomáš Kašpárek
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Daniela Ježová
Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
The aim of this pilot study was to find whether the dysregulation of neuroendocrine biomarker signaling pathways in the first episode of non-affective psychosis is a predictive factor of treatment outcome. Patients with the first episode of non-affective psychosis (N = 29) were examined at admission, at discharge, and at follow-up (N = 23). The biomarkers included serum aldosterone, cortisol, free thyroxine, thyroid stimulating hormone, and prolactin. We revealed lower baseline aldosterone and higher baseline cortisol concentrations in patients with very good outcome compared to those with good outcome after one year. We failed to reveal any significant association between treatment outcome and neurohumoral biomarkers in the whole sample at 1-year follow-up. However, baseline aldosterone concentrations negatively correlated with total PANSS scores at the discharge. Lower baseline aldosterone and higher baseline cortisol concentrations have the potential to predict a more favorable outcome for patients with the first episode of psychosis.
