Disturbed neural development has been postulated as a crucial factor in the
pathophysiology of schizophrenic psychoses. The neurobiochemical basis for
such changes of cytoarchitecture and changed neural plasticity could invol
ve an alteration in the regulation of neurotrophic factors. In order to tes
t this hypothesis, BDNF and NT-3 levels in post-mortem brain tissue from sc
hizophrenic patients were determined by ELISA. There was a significant incr
ease in BDNF concentrations in cortical areas and a significant decrease of
this neurotrophin in hippocampus of patients when compared with controls.
NT-3 concentrations of frontal and parietal cortical areas were significant
ly lower in patients than in controls. These findings lend further evidence
to the neurotrophin hypothesis of schizophrenic psychoses which proposes t
hat alterations in expression of neurotrophic factors could be responsible
for neural maldevelopment and disturbed neural plasticity, thus being an im
portant event in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenic psychoses. (C) 2001
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