Higher vitamin B12 levels in neurodevelopmental disorders than in healthy controls and schizophrenia: A comparison among participants between 2 and 53 years

Author´s accepted manuscript.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hope, S., Nærland, T., Høyland, A. L., Torske, T., Malt, E., Abrahamsen, T. G., Nerhus, M., Wedervang-Resell, K., Lonning, V. L. H., Johannessen, J., Steen, N. E., Agartz, I., Stenberg, N., Hundhausen, T. E., Mørkrid, L. & Andreassen, O. A. (2020). Higher vitamin B12 levels in neurodevelopmental disorders than in healthy controls and schizophrenia : A comparison among participants between 2 and 53 years. The FASEB Journal, 34(6), 8114-8124, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.201900855RRR. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Recent studies suggest that both high and low levels of vitamin B12 (vitB12) may have negative health impacts. We measured VitB12 in patients with the Neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) (n = 222), comprised of Autism Spectrum Disorders, specific Developmental disorders, and Intellectual Disability (aged 2-53 years), schizophrenia (n = 401), and healthy controls (HC) (n = 483). Age-and gender-adjusted vitB12 z-scores were calculated by comparisons with a reference population (n = 76 148). We found higher vitB12 in ND (median 420 pmol/L, mean z-score: 0.30) than in HC (316 pmol/L, z-score: 0.06, P < .01) and schizophrenia (306 pmol/L, z-score: −0.02, P < .001), which was significant after adjusting for age, gender, vitB12 supplement, folate, hemoglobin, leukocytes, liver, and kidney function (P < .02). In ND, 20% (n = 44) had vitB12 above 650 pmol/L, and 1% (n = 3) had below 150 pmol/L (common reference limits). In 6.3% (n = 14) of ND, vitB12 was above 2SD of mean in the age-and gender-adjusted reference population, which was more frequent than in HC (n = 8, 1.6%), OR: 4.0, P = .001. Low vitB12 was equally frequent as in HC, and vitB12 z-scores were equal across the age groups. To conclude, vitB12 was higher in ND than in HC and schizophrenia, suggesting a specific feature of ND, which warrants further studies to investigate the underlying mechanisms.acceptedVersio

Exploring white matter microstructure and the impact of antipsychotics in adolescent-onset psychosis.

White matter abnormalities are well-established in adult patients with psychosis. Less is known about abnormalities in the rarely occurring adolescent early onset psychosis (EOP). In particular, whether antipsychotic medication might impact white matter microstructure is not known. Using 3T diffusion weighted imaging, we investigated differences in white matter microstructure and the impact of antipsychotic medication status in medicated (n = 11) and unmedicated (n = 11) EOP patients relative to healthy controls (n = 33), aged between 12–18 years. Using Tract-based Spatial Statistics, we calculate case-control differences in scalar diffusion measures, i.e. fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusion (AD) and radial diffusion (RD), and investigated their association with antipsychotic medication in patients. We found significantly lower FA in the left genu of the corpus callosum, the left anterior corona radiata (ACR) and the right superior longitudinal fasciculus in EOP patients relative to healthy controls. AD values were also lower in the left ACR, largely overlapping with the FA findings. Mean FA in the left ACR was significantly associated with antipsychotic medication status (Cohen's d = 1.37, 95% CI [0.01, 2.68], p = 0.008), showing higher FA values in medicated compared to unmedicated EOP patients. The present study is the first to link antipsychotic medication status to altered regional FA in the left ACR, a region hypothesized to contribute to the etiology of psychosis. Replications are warranted to draw firm conclusions about putatively enhancing effects of antipsychotic medication on white matter microstructure in adolescent-onset psychosis

Vitamin D, Folate and the Intracranial Volume in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder and Healthy Controls

Vitamin D and folate defciency are considered risk factors for schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, but it is unknown how vitamin D and folate infuence the growing brain, cranium or the clinical phenotype. Serum vitamin D and folate levels are in part genetically regulated. We investigated whether adult vitamin D and folate levels are associated with the intracranial volume (ICV) under the hypothesis that developmental vitamin D or folate levels infuence neurodevelopment and that current levels are associated with ICV. Ninety patients with severe mental disorders and 91 healthy controls underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging and serum sampling. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the contribution of serum vitamin D, folate and patient-control status on ICV. We show that vitamin D levels were within lower range for patients and controls (48.8±22.1 nmol/l and 53.4±20.0 nmol/l, respectively). A signifcant positive association was found between vitamin D and ICV (p=0.003, r=0.22), folate was trend-signifcantly associated with ICV. Folate and vitamin D were signifcantly associated (p=0.0001, r=0.28). There were nonsignifcant patient-control diferences and no interaction efects. The results suggest that Vitamin D is associated with ICV as detected in the adult. Further studies are warranted for replication and to investigate possible mechanisms and genetic associations

Negative and disorganized symptoms mediate the relationship between verbal learning and global functioning in adolescents with early-onset psychosis

Neurocognitive deficits are associated with impaired global functioning and psychotic symptoms. However, whether symptoms can mediate the relationship between neurocognition and global functioning in adolescent psychosis is unclear. Here, we investigated if symptoms assessed with the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), mediated the relationship between neurocognitive performance and global functioning in adolescents with non-affective early-onset psychotic disorders (EOP). Sixty-one adolescent EOP patients (age 12–18 years) from 2 Norwegian clinical cohorts were included. Linear regression models were applied to investigate associations between neurocognitive domains from the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and global functioning. PANSS symptoms were analyzed using the Wallwork/Fortgang five-factor model. Using the INDIRECT macro for SPSS, mediation effects were tested using bootstrapping with 95% bias corrected confidence intervals. Verbal learning was positively associated with global functioning (P < 0.001) and negatively associated with the disorganized symptom factor (P = 0.002), controlling for age, sex and cohort. Testing of indirect effects, controlling for age, sex and cohort, showed that the Negative (point estimate = 1.56, 95% CI 0.22, 3.47) and Disorganized (point estimate = 1.24, 95% CI 0.05, 3.69) symptom factors significantly mediated the relationship between verbal learning and global functioning. We found that verbal learning, negative and disorganized symptoms influenced global functioning in adolescents with EOP, while reality-distorted positive symptoms did not. These results suggest that assessing these domains in EOP is helpful for planning treatment and rehabilitation programs focusing on functional outcome

Lipid alterations in adolescents with early-onset psychosis may be independent of antipsychotic medication

Background Dyslipidemia and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) are cardiovascular risk factors prevalent in patients with psychosis. Whether these factors are intrinsic or affected by lifestyle or antipsychotic medication (AP) is unclear. Therefore, we investigated lipid profiles, HOMA-IR, and psychotic phenotypes in patients aged 12–18 years with early-onset psychosis (EOP) with and without AP exposure. Method We measured fasting total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), triglycerides (TG), insulin, and glucose in patients with EOP (n = 39) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 66). Diet information was not available. Negative symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). We used univariate analysis of variance to compare TC/HDL-C ratios and TG and HOMA-IR values, controlling for body mass index (BMI) and AP exposure. We assessed the explained variance of having EOP using multiple regression analysis. Results Patients with and without AP exposure had significantly higher TC/HDL-C (p = 0.003, p = 0.029) and TG values (p  21 had significantly higher levels of TG than those with low scores (p = 0.032). Conclusion Our results suggest that lipid alterations predate AP treatment in adolescents with EOP. Higher levels of negative symptoms and AP further increase metabolic risk. The preliminary findings propose that subclinical dyslipidemia may be intrinsic to EOP

Increased Interleukin 18 Activity in Adolescents With Early-Onset Psychosis Is Associated With Cortisol and Depressive Symptoms

Objective - Evidence indicates that the pathophysiology of adult psychosis involves immune dysregulation, but its associations with stress are often not considered. The inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-18, which is elevated in adult schizophrenia, is suggested to be sensitive to stress. We compared the associations of IL-18 with cortisol and clinical variables in adolescents with early-onset psychosis (EOP) aged 12–18 years and age-matched healthy controls (HC). Method - We measured serum IL-18, IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), IL-18 receptor accessory protein (IL-18RAP), IL-18 receptor 1 (IL-18R1) and cortisol, and calculated the IL-18/IL-18BP ratio in patients (n = 31) and HC (n = 60). Psychotic symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and depressive symptoms by the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire-Child version (MFQ-C). Bivariate correlation analysis was used to explore relationships between IL-18/IL-18BP ratio and cortisol, depression and other clinical characteristics. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess their individual contributions to the variance of the IL-18/IL-18BP ratio. Results - Patients had significantly higher IL-18 levels and IL-18/IL-18BP ratios than HC, but similar IL-18BP, IL-18RAP and IL-18R1. Both cortisol (R2 change = 0.05) and the MFQ-C score (R2 change = 0.09) contributed significantly to the variance in IL-18/IL-18BP ratios after controlling for confounders. Conclusion - We found increased IL-18 system activity in adolescents with EOP. Cortisol and depressive symptoms each contributed to the variance in the IL-18/IL-18BP ratio. Our findings support activation of inflammatory pathways in adolescent psychosis and suggest interactions between stress, inflammation and depressive symptoms in EOP