PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Eiji Suzuki
AU  - Toshio Nakaki
AU  - Makoto Nakamura
AU  - Hitoshi Miyaoka
TI  - Plasma nitrate levels in deficit versus non-deficit forms of schizophrenia
DP  - 2003 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
PG  - 288--292
VI  - 28
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jpn.ca/content/28/4/288.short
4100  - http://jpn.ca/content/28/4/288.full
SO  - JPN2003 Jul 01; 28
AB  - Objective: To determine whether nitric oxide production levels differ in patients with deficit and nondeficit forms of schizophrenia.Methods: We investigated plasma nitrate levels, an index of in vivo nitric oxide production, in patients with deficit syndrome (n = 11) and non-deficit syndrome (n = 14) and healthy controls (n = 12) with a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography and the Griess reaction.Results: There was no difference found in mean plasma nitrite levels, but plasma nitrate levels of patients with deficit syndrome were significantly lower than those with non-deficit syndrome (28.0 [SEM 2.5] μmol/L v. 44.2 [SEM 5.5] μmol/L, p < 0.05).Conclusions: A decline in nitric oxide production may be involved in primary negative symptoms in schizophrenia.