Plasma nesfatin 1 level in patients with first attack psychosis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the possible relationship between plasma concentrations of nesfatin 1 and first attack psychosis.

METHODS: Totally, 32 patients with the first episode psychosis and 33 randomly selected weight- and body mass index-matched healthy volunteers admitted to Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine, Training and Research Hospital, Psychiatry outpatient clinic were included. Healthy control subjects were matched in terms of weight and body mass index (BMI). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANNS) was applied to the patient group. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to measure plasma nesfatin 1 levels.

RESULTS: The mean nesfatin 1 level was lower in the patients with the first attack psychosis (0.60 ± 1.00 ng/mL) than in the control group (0.75 ± 1.07 ng/mL).However it did not reach statistical significance (t = -0.567, p = 0.573). There was no statistically significant correlation between plasma nesfatin 1 levels and total PANNS scores in the patient group (r = -0.262, p = 0.148).

CONCLUSION: Our study was the first to investigate the nesfatin 1 levels in patients with the first episode psychosis. Based on our study results, nesfatin 1 might be related to some central nervous system pathologies, including the severity of a psychiatric disorder; however, further large-scale studies are required to establish a conclusion (Tab. 1, Ref. 21).