Evaluation of reproductive hormones relations with response to treatment in male patients with first episode psychosis

Abstract

Objectives

Data regarding schizophrenia treatment has been increasing whereas the information about predictors of treatment response is limited. In this study, our aim is to investigate the serum levels of reproductive hormones as a biological predictor in terms.

Methods

Thirty-three hospitalized male patients in GATA Haydarpasa Training Hospital with the diagnosis of first episode psychosis were included into the study. The study was prospective and naturalistic in design. The clinical course was recorded by means of Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) in pretreatment period, 2nd and 6th weeks of the study. Prolactin, FSH, LH, estrogen, testesterone and oxytocin serum levels were also measured at the same dates.

Results

Treatment response was assessed as unresponsive when PANSSttl scores were lower than 25%, partial response when PANSSttl scores were between 25%-40% changes, and response when PANSSttl scores were higher than 40%. Patients were grouped according to those cut-off points. There was a significant positive correlation between oxytocin, FSH serum levels and positive symptoms (ρ = 0.437, P = 0.011; r = 0.385, P = 0.027). There was also significant negative correlation between testesterone serum levels and negative and total psychopathology scores (r = −0.352, P = 0.044; r = −0.429, P = 0.013). It was seen that pretreatment testerone levels had a significant biological marker on predicting remission when the serum levels were lower than 460,91 ng/dL.

Conclusions

This study shows that hypothalamo-hypophysial-gonadal axis hormones and reproductive hormones, especially testesterone, may be an important biological marker of treatment response prediction in first episode psychosis.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.