Fast Breaking Comment by Jogin H. Thakore

Jogin H. Thakore answers a few questions about this month's fast breaking paper in the field of Psychiatry/Psychology.

From •>>October 2004

Field: Psychiatry/Psychology
Article Title: Impaired fasting glucose tolerance in first-episode, drug-naive patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Ryan, MCM;Collins, P;Thakore, JH
Journal: AMER J PSYCHIAT
Volume: 160
Page: 284-289
Year: FEB 2003
* St Vincent Hosp, Ctr Neurosci, Richmond Rd, Dublin 3, Ireland.
* St Vincent Hosp, Ctr Neurosci, Dublin 3, Ireland.
* Univ Newcastle Upon Tyne, Royal Victoria Infirm, Dept Psychiat, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 4LP, Tyne & Wear, England.
* Royal Coll Surgeons Ireland, Dept Biochem, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Does it describe a new discovery or a new methodology that's useful to others?

It is the first to show, using modern diagnostic criteria that the glucose dysregulation seen in schizophrenia may be partly attributable to the illness since we tested patients who were experiencing their first episode of illness and were not exposed to any medication in the past.

Can you summarize the significance of your paper in laymen's terms?

Schizophrenia is associated with premature mortality, with the vast majority of deaths attributable to "natural causes," such as heart disease. Diabetes is a precursor to such heart disease and we wondered whether patients with schizophrenia had a higher risk of developing this endocrine disorder. The problem with previous studies was the fact that most of them had tested patients who were on or used to be on antipsychotic drugs which were thought to be responsible for the diabetes observed. So, if patients were given drugs that did not "cause" diabetes then the problem would disappear. Yet, this is not the case as patients with schizophrenia are at a higher risk of developing diabetes than the general population and we need to screen for such patients in order to prevent the onset of heart disease.

Dr. Jogin H. Thakore, MB, Ph.D., MRCPsych
Neuroscience Centre, St. Vincent's Hospital
Dublin & Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience
Dublin, Ireland

Read about Schizophrenia in ESI Special Topics.

ESI Special Topics, October 2004
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/fbp/2004/october04-JoginThakore.html