Changes in neurotransmitter levels, brain structural characteristics, and their correlation with PANSS scores in patients with first-episode schizophrenia

Table 1 Basic data of patients in the two groups

Group	n	Age (yr)	BMI (kg/m2)	Gender (%)		Degree of education		Marital status
				Male	Female	Junior high school and below	Senior high school or above	Married	Unmarried or widowed
Case group	97	39.60 ± 8.20	23.76 ± 2.21	41 (42.27)	56 (57.73)	62 (63.92)	35 (36.08)	81 (83.51)	16 (16.49)
Control group	100	37.40 ± 9.40	23.41 ± 2.40	50 (50.00)	50 (50.00)	55 (55.00)	45 (45.00)	77 (77.00)	23 (23.00)
t/χ2		1.748	1.064	1.184		1.623		1.312
P		0.082	0.289	0.276		0.203		0.252

BMI: Body mass index.

Table 2 Comparison of brain neurotransmitter levels between case group and control group (mean ± SD)

Group	n	DA	Glu	GABA
Case group	97	5.74 ± 1.30	5.62 ± 0.87	6.34 ± 1.12
Control group	100	3.82 ± 0.96	6.48 ± 0.63	7.56 ± 1.43
t		11.817	-7.964	-6.653
P		0.000	0.000	0.000

DA: Dopamine; Glu: Glutamic acid; GABA: Gamma-aminobutyric acid.

Table 3 Changes of craniocerebral structure in case group and control group (mean ± SD)

Group	n	The distance between the midline of the brain and the inferior fornix (mm)	The vertical distance between the corpus callosum and the inferior part of the fornix (mm)	The horizontal distance between the corpus callosum and the inferior part of the fornix (mm)	The distance between the middle fornix (mm)	The area of the ventricles (mm2)
Case group	97	5.15 ± 0.96	7.26 ± 1.49	6.64 ± 1.10	2.41 ± 0.45	115.2 ± 14.7
Control group	100	4.94 ± 0.80	5.80 ± 0.85	5.48 ± 0.95	2.50 ± 0.41	94.2 ± 10.0
t		1.670	8.479	7.929	-1.468	11.755
P		0.097	0.000	0.000	0.144	0.000

Table 4 Comparison of brain neurotransmitters in schizophrenia patients with different disease characteristics (mean ± SD)

Disease characteristics	n	DA	Glu	GABA
Positive symptom	57	6.52 ± 1.14	5.81 ± 0.75	6.56 ± 0.94
Negative symptom	40	4.63 ± 0.98	5.35 ± 0.71	6.03 ± 0.88
t		8.506	3.039	2.806
P		0.000	0.003	0.006

DA: Dopamine; Glu: Glutamic acid; GABA: Gamma-aminobutyric acid.

Table 5 Comparison of brain neurotransmitters in schizophrenia patients with different disease characteristics (mean ± SD)

Disease characteristics	n	The distance between the midline of the brain and the inferior fornix (mm)	The vertical distance between the corpus callosum and the inferior part of the fornix (mm)	The horizontal distance between the corpus callosum and the inferior part of the fornix (mm)	The distance between the middle fornix (mm)	The area of the ventricles (mm2)
Positive symptom	57	5.20 ± 0.92	7.31 ± 1.33	6.71 ± 1.04	2.38 ± 0.41	116.80 ± 13.20
Negative symptom	40	5.08 ± 0.85	7.19 ± 1.18	6.54 ± 0.98	2.45 ± 0.38	113.50 ± 11.60
t		0.652	0.458	0.811	-0.853	1.273
P		0.516	0.648	0.419	0.396	0.206

Table 6 Correlation between each index and Positive and Negative Symptom Scale score

Index	Patient with positive symptoms		Patient with negative symptoms
	r	P	R	P
DA	0.628	0.000	0.533	0.000
Glu	-0.417	0.011	-0.631	0.000
GABA	-0.489	0.001	-0.567	0.000
The distance between the midline of the brain and the inferior fornix	0.182	0.284	0.154	0.354
The vertical distance between the corpus callosum and the inferior part of the fornix	0.577	0.000	0.475	0.003
The horizontal distance between the corpus callosum and the inferior part of the fornix	0.614	0.000	0.528	0.000
The distance between the middle fornix	0.208	0.256	0.117	0.461
The area of the ventricles	0.625	0.000	0.642	0.000

DA: Dopamine; Glu: Glutamic acid; GABA: Gamma-aminobutyric acid.