Blood Viscosity and Inflammation in First-Episode and Acute Exacerbations of Schizophrenia: A Case-Control Study with Healthy Controls.

Introduction: Elevated proinflammatory status and alterations in blood flow, both of which are associated with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, may be linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, such a relationship at different acute stages of schizophrenia has not been evaluated. We aimed to examine whether blood viscosity and systemic inflammatory status varied between first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and acute exacerbations of schizophrenia. Methods: Fifty-two patients with FES, 69 schizophrenia patients with acute exacerbation (S-AE) and 56 healthy controls (HC) were included in the study. Whole blood viscosity (WBV) was calculated according to de Simone's formula at low and high shear rates (LSR and HSR). Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) were calculated from hemogram screening data at admission. Results: When adjusted for age, WBV at both LSR and HSR were significantly decreased in both FES and S-AE groups compared to HCs. Systemic inflammatory response index was significantly higher in FES patients than in the S-AE and HC groups. Total cholesterol (TC) and WBV at HSR were correlated in patients. Total cholesterol predicted WBV at LSR in patients with FES whereas other independent variables including age and SIRI did not. Conclusion: Both first and subsequent episodes of schizophrenia are associated with reduced blood viscosity. Increased inflammatory status may not fully explain such a relationship. Extrapolation of hemorheological characteristics in schizophrenia may help to stratify cardiovascular risk and reflect the pathophysiological process in the early and later stages of schizophrenia.

Statistical shape analysis of corpus callosum in delusional disorder.

Neurobiological foundations of delusional disorder (DD) have been studied less with neuroimaging techniques when compared to other psychotic disorders. The present study aimed to delineate the neural substrates of DD by investigating neuroanatomical characteristics of the corpus callosum (CC) with statistical shape analysis (SSA) conducted on magnetic resonance images (MRI). Twenty (female:male=1:1) DSM-5 DD patients and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were included. High-resolution 3D T1 Turbo Field Echo MRI images were scanned with a 1.5 T MR device. The landmarks that were selected to determine the shape differences in CC were identified based on previous studies. Furthermore, constructed landmarks were determined and employed to better assess regional shape differences. There was no significant difference in the CC area in the mid-sagittal images between the DD patients and controls. However, DD patients exhibited a pattern of structural CC changes in various regions. The study findings emphasizes the variable subregional nature of CC in DD patients. Future SSA studies with larger samples could shed further light on DD etiology, diagnosis, classification and treatment options.

Thyroid functions in patients with hypochondriasis.

OBJECTIVE: No studies of thyroid-related hormone levels have been conducted in patients with hypochondriasis to date. The aim of this study is to examine thyroid-related hormones in patients with hypochondriasis. METHODS: Sixty patients with hypochondriasis and 138 healthy controls were included in this study. Patients with hypochondriasis who applied to the psychiatry outpatient clinic and met the study criteria and healthy controls were determined by chart analysis. RESULTS: According to the results of the comparisons, TSH, fT3, and fT4 levels did not show a statistically significant difference between hypochondriasis patients and healthy controls. CONCLUSION: Thyroid hormone levels are not associated with hypochondriasis.

Evaluation of arterial stiffness in patients with schizophrenia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate arterial stiffness in schizophrenia patients. 28 male patients were included. The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the vessels were taken using high-resolution ultrasonography system. The mean carotid IMT and the mean femoral IMT values of the study group were found to be statistically significantly higher than the values of the control group. As the duration of the disease increased, there was an increase in the carotid IMT, carotid elastic modulus and femoral IMT, whereas there was a decrease in carotid and femoral diastolic wall stress in patients. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups' carotid and femoral compliance, distensibility and elastic modulus values. The mean systolic arterial blood pressure in the patient group was determined to be lower than that of the control group. The mean diastolic wall stress values in the carotid and femoral arteries were determined to be lower than those of the control group. There was no relationship between antipsychotic dose, blood pressure and arterial stiffness parameters. Schizophrenia patients are more prone to develop arterial stiffness by atherosclerosis either with the effect of the nature of the disease itself or antipsychotic treatment. But evaluation with more parameters (carotid and femoral compliance, distensibility and elastic modulus) did not indicate any difference from the control group in respect of arterial stiffness. Antipsychotic treatment may play a protective role in terms of arterial stiffness by causing a decrease in systolic arterial pressure and carotid and femoral diastolic wall stress.