TY - JOUR
T1 - Stress hormones and verbal memory in young people over the first 12 weeks of treatment for psychosis
AU - Allott, Kelly A.
AU - Yuen, Hok Pan
AU - Bartholomeusz, Cali F.
AU - Rapado-Castro, Marta
AU - Phassouliotis, Christina
AU - Butselaar, Felicity
AU - Wood, Stephen J.
AU - Proffitt, Tina Marie
AU - Savage, Greg
AU - Phillips, Lisa J.
AU - Bendall, Sarah
AU - Markulev, Connie
AU - Reniers, Renate L.E.P.
AU - Pantelis, Christos
AU - Baldwin, Lara
AU - McGorry, Patrick D.
AU - Garner, Belinda
PY - 2018/2/1
Y1 - 2018/2/1
N2 - Aims: Memory impairment in psychosis may be mediated through detrimental effects of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. This study prospectively investigated the relationship between cortisol, sulphate dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA(S) and cortisol: DHEA(S) ratio and memory in 35 first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients during the first 12 weeks of treatment and 23 healthy controls (HC). Methods: Morning blood sampling and tests of attention, working memory and verbal memory occurred at baseline and 12-week follow-up. Results: FEP and HC groups did not significantly differ in levels of cortisol, DHEA(S) or their ratio at baseline or over 12-weeks. The FEP group performed significantly below HC on all cognitive measures at baseline and over 12-weeks. Cortisol levels were unrelated to cognition in both groups. At baseline, DHEA(S) was positively associated with attention in HCs, but negatively associated with attention in FEP participants. Change in DHEA(S) was negatively associated with change in memory over 12-weeks in both groups. At 12-weeks, there was a negative correlation between the cortisol: DHEA(S) ratio and attention in both groups. Conclusions: These findings are mostly in contrast to findings in chronic schizophrenia. Investigation at different illness phases and over longer-follow-up periods is required to determine the complex relationship between HPA-axis and memory functioning in psychosis.
AB - Aims: Memory impairment in psychosis may be mediated through detrimental effects of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. This study prospectively investigated the relationship between cortisol, sulphate dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA(S) and cortisol: DHEA(S) ratio and memory in 35 first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients during the first 12 weeks of treatment and 23 healthy controls (HC). Methods: Morning blood sampling and tests of attention, working memory and verbal memory occurred at baseline and 12-week follow-up. Results: FEP and HC groups did not significantly differ in levels of cortisol, DHEA(S) or their ratio at baseline or over 12-weeks. The FEP group performed significantly below HC on all cognitive measures at baseline and over 12-weeks. Cortisol levels were unrelated to cognition in both groups. At baseline, DHEA(S) was positively associated with attention in HCs, but negatively associated with attention in FEP participants. Change in DHEA(S) was negatively associated with change in memory over 12-weeks in both groups. At 12-weeks, there was a negative correlation between the cortisol: DHEA(S) ratio and attention in both groups. Conclusions: These findings are mostly in contrast to findings in chronic schizophrenia. Investigation at different illness phases and over longer-follow-up periods is required to determine the complex relationship between HPA-axis and memory functioning in psychosis.
KW - cortisol
KW - first-episode psychosis
KW - memory
KW - stress
KW - sulphate dehydroepiandrosterone
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85034862810&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.11.044
DO - 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.11.044
M3 - Article
VL - 260
SP - 60
EP - 66
JO - Psychiatry Research
JF - Psychiatry Research
SN - 0165-1781
ER -