Homocysteine and MTHFR C677T polymorphism in children and adolescents with psychotic and mood disorders

Abstract

Background : High level of homocysteine (Hcy) is risk factor of schizophrenia and mood disorders. Aim: The aim was to detect a serum level of Hcy, examine the associations between the level of Hcy, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T polymorphism and clinical properties for patients with schizophrenia, mood disorders and in a control group. Material and methods: There were 88 patients with schizophrenia, 28 with affective disorders and 94 from the control group. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) was performed to study anxiety, the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) to study depression and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) to study severity of schizophrenia. The level of Hcy was stated by isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system with fluorometric detection. DNA isolation from venous blood was performed by the phenol–chloroform method. Results: The levels of B₁₂ vitamin and folic acid were within normal limits for all the patients. The average level of Hcy was 11.94 ± 5.6 μmol/l for patients with schizophrenia and 11.65 ± 3.3 μmol/l for patients with affective disorders, vs. 6.80 ± 2.93 μmol/l in a control group. The highest level of Hcy has been observed in patients with an episodic–recurrent course of schizophrenia, paranoid schizophrenia—continuous, particularly in patients with CT genotype (r = − 0.58; P < 0.01). In the given diagnostic groups, the highest level of anxiety was observed. Conclusions: The level of Hcy is higher in the blood of a heterozygotic person who becomes ill with schizophrenia, and the process of the illness is more serious and with more typical affective disorders.

• Child psychiatry
• Homocysteine
• Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase
• Mood disorders
• Schizophrenia

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests and did not apply for or receive any funding for this work.