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Hormone test may distinguish schizophrenia, depression

Recent findings suggest that a simple hormone test may accurately identify depression or schizophrenia and distinguish between the two disorders.

“Altered N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activity and glutamate signaling may underlie the pathogenesis of both schizophrenia and depression in subgroups of patients,” Handan Gunduz-Bruce, MD, of Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “In schizophrenia, pharmacologic modeling, postmortem and imaging data suggest reduced NMDA signaling. In contrast, recent clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of the NMDA antagonist ketamine in severely depressed patients suggest increased NMDA receptor signaling.”

Handan Gunduz-Bruce

To determine associations between NMDA receptor function and depression and schizophrenia, researchers administered a high concentration salt solution to induce the release of arginine-vasopressin among adults with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or unipolar depression or healthy controls.

Participants with depression exhibited significantly increased levels of arginine-vasopressin (P < .05), while those with schizophrenia exhibited decreased levels.

“Our findings may represent the first in vivo evidence that in depression, central NMDA receptor signaling is enhanced, and that in schizophrenia, it may be decreased at least as compared to depression,” the researchers wrote. “Once replicated in larger samples and fully developed, our approach can be used to detect vulnerability towards depression and schizophrenia in individuals early in the disease process and enable early intervention in a subgroup of patients. In addition, this approach may be useful in quantifying the central NMDA receptor responsiveness in individuals and guide clinicians in targeted drug treatment using novel glutamatergic agents.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.