Vitamin B12 blood level is correlated with drug-induced extrapyramidal symptoms in schizophrenic patients

Abstract

The extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) are commonly associated with antipsychotic treatment of schizophrenic patients. Accumulated evidence has shown that pathways of homocysteine and folate metabolism are linked to neurodegeneration and schizophrenia. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folate serum levels in relation to drug-induced EPS in schizophrenic patients. The blood levels of homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folic acid were measured by chemiluminescent and electrochemoluminescence immunoassay methods in 34 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (19 patients with severe EPS and 15 controls without EPS), recruited from Clinical Hospital of Neuropsychiatry Craiova, Romania. A significant association has been observed between EPS and vitamin B12 levels, the patients with severe EPS showed a reduced vitamin B12 levels (p=0.02). No correlation was observed between severe EPS and homocysteine or folate levels (p=0.2, respectively p=0.37). Our study suggests that deficiency of vitamin B12 blood levels is correlated with severe EPS in schizophrenic patients. Further studies included more patients and functional experiments are required to clarify the role of these biomarkers in relation with antipsychotic-induced EPS in schizophrenia.