Severity of obstetric complications and risk of adult schizophrenia in male patients: a case–control study

Bersani, Giuseppe; Taddei, Ines; Manuali, Giorgiana; Ramieri, Luisa; Venturi, P.; Osborn, John; Pancheri, P.

doi:10.1080/jmf.14.1.35.38

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, maternal influenza during the second trimester may impair fetal growth and predispose to obstetric complications and lower birth weight, both of which have been repeatedly found to increase the risk of subsequent schizophrenia [22,27]. Kendell et al [22], in a study of the seasonal fluctuations in birth weight in schizophrenia, found that schizophrenics born in the second quarter of the year (April to June, with a peak in May) had significantly lower birth weight than controls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Excess in the spring and deficit in the autumn in birth rates of male schizophrenic patients in Italy: Potential role of perinatal risk factors

Bersani

Pucci

Gherardelli

et al. 2006

The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Excess in the spring and deficit in the autumn in birth rates of male schizophrenic patients in Italy: Potential role of perinatal risk factors

Bersani

Pucci

Gherardelli

et al. 2006

The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Random biological events associated with schizophrenia include pregnancy and delivery complications (23,24), infections (25), and malnutrition (26). Lewis and Levitt (27) suggest that it is caused by an early (pre-natal or perinatal) static brain lesion with a long latency or a late (adolescence) brain disturbance of limited duration.…”

Section: Timing Of Diversion and Errorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidental neurodevelopmental episodes in the etiology of schizophrenia: An expanded model involving epigenetics and development

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Epidemiological data favors genetic predisposition for schizophrenia, a common and complex mental disorder in most populations. Search for the genes involved using candidate genes, positional cloning, and chromosomal aberrations including triplet repeat expansions have established a number of susceptibility loci and genomic sites but no causal gene(s) with a proven mechanism of action. Recent genome-wide gene expression studies on brains from schizophrenia patients and their matched controls have identified a number of genes that show an alteration in expression in the diseased brains. Although it is not possible to offer a cause and effect association between altered gene expression and disease, such observations support a neurodevelopmental model in schizophrenia. Here, we offer a mechanism of this disease, which takes into account the role of developmental noise and diversions of the neural system. It suggests that the final outcome of a neural developmental process is not fixed and exact. Rather it develops with a variation around the mean. More important, the phenotypic consequence may cross the norm as a result of fortuitous and/or epigenetic events. As a result, a normal genotype may develop as abnormal with a disease phenotype. More important, susceptible genotypes may have reduced penetrance and develop as a normal phenocopy. The incidental episodes in neurodevelopment will explain the frequency of schizophrenia in most populations and high discordance of monozygotic twins.

show abstract

“…OCs constitute an early environmental factor that is a well-known source of neurological and behavioural abnormalities in non-psychotic populations (18,19). OCs have been considered possible risk factors of schizophrenia (20,21): there is considerable evidence that exposure to OCs is associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in later life (22)(23)(24). Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether OCs represent an independent risk factor for schizophrenia, interact with genetic risk to increase liability, are themselves a manifestation of genetic liability for schizophrenia or are epiphenomena of developmental compromise in individuals who are already on a trajectory towards psychotic illness in adult life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obstetric complications and neurological soft signs in male patients with schizophrenia

Bersani

Clemente

Gherardelli

et al. 2012

Acta Neuropsychiatr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

complications and neurological soft signs in male patients with schizophrenia.Objective: The study investigated the relationship between neurological soft signs (NSS) and obstetric complications (OCs) in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Sixty-three male patients with schizophrenia were divided into two subgroups, based on the OCs presence or absence, which were compared in relation to NSS prevalence. After that, a Person's correlation test was performed to explore the correlation between NSS and OCs severity. Results: The subgroup with OCs showed more NSS, but there were not significant correlations between NSS and OCs severity. Conclusions: It seems that any OC, without distinction in typology and severity, could unspecifically impair the neurodevelopment and inducing NSS expression. Our findings confirm the hypothesis that neurodevelopment alterations, such as those probably induced by OCs, can contribute to a premorbid brain dysfunctional state expressed by NSS. Significant outcomes• Neurological soft signs (NSS) and obstetric complications (OCs) show higher incidence in schizophrenic male patients. We used a homogeneous sample of male patients. • This study suggests a role of OCs in neurodevelopment alterations. • The results suggest the meaning of NSS as markers of the neurodevelopment impairment. Limitations• We used a small sample of schizophrenic patients. • The sample was not antipsychotic naïve. • We relied on maternal recall to retrospectively ascertain a history of OCs.

show abstract

Severity of obstetric complications and risk of adult schizophrenia in male patients: a case–control study

Abstract: The results seem to confirm the hypothesis that obstetric complications may contribute to increased vulnerability to the disease, in addition to genetic risk factors.

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Excess in the spring and deficit in the autumn in birth rates of male schizophrenic patients in Italy: Potential role of perinatal risk factors

Excess in the spring and deficit in the autumn in birth rates of male schizophrenic patients in Italy: Potential role of perinatal risk factors

Incidental neurodevelopmental episodes in the etiology of schizophrenia: An expanded model involving epigenetics and development

Obstetric complications and neurological soft signs in male patients with schizophrenia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About