Philippe Conus, Larry J Seidman, Margot Fournier, Lijing Xin, Martine Cleusix, Philipp S Baumann, Carina Ferrari, Ann Cousins, Luis Alameda, Mehdi Gholam-Rezaee, Philippe Golay, Raoul Jenni, T-U Wilson Woo, Matcheri S Keshavan, Chin B Eap, Joanne Wojcik, Michel Cuenod, Thierry Buclin, Rolf Gruetter, Kim Q Do
Biomarker-guided treatments are needed in psychiatry, and previous data suggest oxidative stress may be a target in schizophrenia. A previous add-on trial with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) led to negative symptom reductions in chronic patients. We aim to study NAC's impact on symptoms and neurocognition in early psychosis (EP) and to explore whether glutathione (GSH)/redox markers could represent valid biomarkers to guide treatment. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 63 EP patients, we assessed the effect of NAC supplementation (2700 mg/day, 6 months) on PANSS, neurocognition, and redox markers (brain GSH [GSHmPFC], blood cells GSH levels [GSHBC], GSH peroxidase activity [GPxBC])...
February 15, 2018: Schizophrenia Bulletin