Abnormalities in 5-HT2A receptor mRNA expression in frontal cortex of chronic elderly schizophrenics with varying histories of neuroleptic treatment
✍ Scribed by Ivan Hernandez; Boris P. Sokolov
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 104 KB
- Volume
- 59
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0360-4012
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✦ Synopsis
Alterations in the 5-HT2A receptor gene expression in the prefrontal cortex have been suggested to play a role in the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia. This study measured mRNA encoding 5-HT2A receptor in the left superior frontal gyrus from chronic elderly schizophrenics (n ϭ 21) with varying neurolepticfree intervals before death (72 hr to more than 5 years), and normal drug-free elderly controls (n ϭ 14). Levels of 5-HT2A mRNA in schizophrenics correlated significantly and inversely with neuroleptic-free interval before death (r ϭ Ϫ0.77; P Ͻ 0.0001). In schizophrenics who had been receiving neuroleptic until time of death, levels of 5-HT2A mRNA were similar to controls or greater. In schizophrenics who had been free of neuroleptic for more than six months levels of 5-HT2A mRNA were significantly lower than in controls. These results confirm previous findings of decreased expression of the 5-HT2A receptor gene in the frontal cortex of some schizophrenics and suggest that regulation of this gene may be involved in the therapeutic actions of typical neuroleptics.