RT journal article
T1 Association of Prolactin, Oxytocin, and Homocysteine With the Clinical and Cognitive Features of a First Episode of Psychosis Over a 1-Year Follow-Up
A1 Hidalgo Figueroa, María
A1 Salazar Couso, Alejandro
A1 Romero López Alberca, Cristina
A1 MacDowell, Karina S.
A1 García-Bueno, Borja
A1 Bioque, Miquel
A1 Bernardo, Miquel
A1 Parellada, M.
A1 González-Pinto, Ana
A1 García Portilla, María Paz
A1 Lobo, A.
A1 Rodríguez-Jiménez, Roberto
A1 Berrocoso Domínguez, Esther María
A1 Leza, Juan Carlos
A2 Estadística e Investigación Operativa
A2 Neurociencias
A2 Psicología
K1 First-episode psychosis
K1 prolactin
K1 oxytocin
K1 homocysteine
K1 cognition
AB Background: The clinical debut of schizophrenia is frequently a first episode of psychosis (FEP). As such, there is considerable interest in identifying associations between biological markers and clinical or cognitive characteristics that help predict the progression and outcome of FEP patients. Previous studies showed that high prolactin, low oxytocin, and high homocysteine are factors associated with FEP 6 months after diagnosis, at which point plasma levels were correlated with some clinical and cognitive characteristics. Methods: We reexamined 75 patients at 12 months after diagnosis to measure the evolution of these molecules and assess their association with clinical features. Results: At follow-up, FEP patients had lower prolactin levels than at baseline, and patients treated with risperidone or paliperidone had higher prolactin levels than patients who received other antipsychotic agents. By contrast, no changes in oxytocin and homocysteine plasma levels were observed between the baseline and follow-up. In terms of clinical features, we found that plasma prolactin and homocysteine levels were correlated with the severity of the psychotic symptoms in male FEP patients, suggesting that they might be factors associated with psychotic symptomatology but only in men. Together with oxytocin, these molecules may also be related to sustained attention, verbal ability, and working memory cognitive domains in FEP patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that focusing on prolactin, oxytocin, and homocysteine at a FEP may help select adequate pharmacological treatments and develop new tools to improve the outcome of these patients, where sex should also be borne in mind.
PB Oxford University Press
SN 1469-5111
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/31857
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/31857
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 06-nov-2026