Finally, higher serum GDNF levels are associated with better cognitive performance in DS patients, indicating a possible neuroprotective function in DS.
Thus, we examined the serum GDNF levels in schizophrenia patients with TD (WTD) and without TD (NTD) and compared with healthy controls (HC), respectively.
Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Nicotine Sensitization in Rats Neonatally Treated with Quinpirole: Analyses of Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Implications towards Schizophrenia.
In sum, increased D<sub>2</sub> receptor sensitivity influenced the associative properties and GDNF response to nicotine which has implications towards pharmacological targets for smoking cessation in schizophrenia.
A few association analyses between GDNF gene polymorphisms and psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and drug abuse have also been published but little is known about any effects of these polymorphisms on mood characteristics such as anxiety and depression.
These results support that the (AGG)n > or = 15 alleles could be protective factors against schizophrenia and thus they suggest a possible involvement of GDNF gene in the genetic liability to illness.
Overall, we obtained no solid evidence for the involvement of the GDNF gene in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, although further studies in larger numbers of subjects will be required to conclude whether the trinucleotide repeat polymorphism is associated with the development of schizophrenia.