PMID- 23320462 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20130628 LR - 20211021 IS - 1471-244X (Electronic) IS - 1471-244X (Linking) VI - 13 DP - 2013 Jan 15 TI - Plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels, learning capacity and cognition in patients with first episode psychosis. PG - 27 LID - 10.1186/1471-244X-13-27 [doi] AB - BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairments are seen in first psychotic episode (FEP) patients. The neurobiological underpinnings that might underlie these changes remain unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate whether Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels are associated with cognitive impairment in FEP patients compared with healthy controls. METHODS: 45 FEP patients and 45 healthy controls matched by age, gender and educational level were selected from the Basque Country area of Spain. Plasma BDNF levels were assessed in healthy controls and in patients. A battery of cognitive tests was applied to both groups, with the patients being assessed at 6 months after the acute episode and only in those with a clinical response to treatment. RESULTS: Plasma BDNF levels were altered in patients compared with the control group. In FEP patients, we observed a positive association between BDNF levels at six months and five cognitive domains (learning ability, immediate and delayed memory, abstract thinking and processing speed) which persisted after controlling for medications prescribed, drug use, intelligence quotient (IQ) and negative symptoms. In the healthy control group, BDNF levels were not associated with cognitive test scores. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that BDNF is associated with the cognitive impairment seen after a FEP. Further investigations of the role of this neurotrophin in the symptoms associated with psychosis onset are warranted. FAU - Ruiz de Azua, Sonia AU - Ruiz de Azua S AD - CIBERSAM (Biomedical Research Center in Mental Health Net), University Hospital of Alava, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain. FAU - Matute, Carlos AU - Matute C FAU - Stertz, Laura AU - Stertz L FAU - Mosquera, Fernando AU - Mosquera F FAU - Palomino, Aitor AU - Palomino A FAU - de la Rosa, Iris AU - de la Rosa I FAU - Barbeito, Sara AU - Barbeito S FAU - Vega, Patricia AU - Vega P FAU - Kapczinski, Flavio AU - Kapczinski F FAU - Gonzalez-Pinto, Ana AU - Gonzalez-Pinto A LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20130115 PL - England TA - BMC Psychiatry JT - BMC psychiatry JID - 100968559 RN - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) SB - IM MH - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/*blood MH - Case-Control Studies MH - *Cognition MH - Cognition Disorders/blood/physiopathology/psychology MH - Female MH - Humans MH - *Learning MH - Male MH - Neuropsychological Tests MH - Psychotic Disorders/*blood/physiopathology/psychology MH - Young Adult PMC - PMC3567944 EDAT- 2013/01/17 06:00 MHDA- 2013/07/03 06:00 PMCR- 2013/01/15 CRDT- 2013/01/17 06:00 PHST- 2012/10/31 00:00 [received] PHST- 2013/01/14 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2013/01/17 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2013/01/17 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2013/07/03 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2013/01/15 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 1471-244X-13-27 [pii] AID - 10.1186/1471-244X-13-27 [doi] PST - epublish SO - BMC Psychiatry. 2013 Jan 15;13:27. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-13-27.