Estrogen - A Potential New Treatment for Women & Men with Schizophrenia

动物研究表明，雌激素--女性的主要荷尔蒙--可以减少导致精神分裂症的两种主要大脑化学物质(多巴胺和5-羟色胺)。雌激素在大脑中的作用类似于目前的抗精神病药物。我们进行的一项研究表明，当我们给12名患有精神分裂症的年轻女性服用100微克雌激素贴片加标准抗精神病药物治疗时，她们比只接受标准抗精神病药物治疗的12名年轻女性恢复得更快。100mcg是安全剂量的雌激素。在这项提案中，我们希望通过对60名女性精神分裂症患者进行28天的试验来扩大和澄清先导性研究的结果。30名妇女将接受100微克的皮肤贴片雌激素加抗精神病药物治疗，30名妇女将仅接受抗精神病药物治疗。我们还测试了在5名男性精神分裂症患者的抗精神病药物治疗中添加非常小剂量的口服雌激素的价值，发现与只接受标准抗精神病药物治疗的5名男性相比，他们的康复情况更好。我们在男性身上试验了七天的雌激素使用，但这可能还不够长，不足以检查雌激素治疗对男性的真正影响。在这项提案中，我们希望在总共60名男性精神分裂症患者中进行14天的试验。30名男性将接受2毫克的口服雌激素和抗精神病药物治疗，他们的结果将与30名接受标准抗精神病药物治疗和外观与雌激素相同的安慰剂的男性进行比较。在14天内，这种低剂量的雌激素是非常安全的。潜在的雌激素可能是目前精神分裂症标准治疗的有用补充。它可以缩短急性疾病的持续时间，对妇女来说，它可能在预防精神分裂症复发以及改善患有精神分裂症的妇女的总体健康方面发挥作用。

Estrogen - the major female hormone, has been shown in animal studies to decrease the two main brain chemicals (dopamine and serotonin) that are implicated in causing schizophrenia. The effect of estrogen in the brain is similar to current antipsychotic drugs. We have carried out a study that showed that when we gave 12 young women with schizophrenia 100 micrograms of estrogen in a skin patch form plus standard antipsychotic drug treament they recovered more quickly than 12 young women who received standard antipsychotic drug treatment only. 100mcg is a safe dose of estrogen. In this proposal we want to expand and clarify the pilot study resutls by conducting a 28 day trial in a total of 60 women with schizophrenia. 30 women would receive 100 mcg skin patch estrogen plus antipsychotic medication and 30 women would receive antipsychotic medicationly only. We also tested the value of adding a very small dose of oral estrogen to antipsychotic drug treatment in five men with schizophrenia and found that they made a better recovery compared to five men who received standard antipsychotic drugs only. We trialled the use of estrogen for seven days in men, but this may not have been long enough to examine the real impact of estrogen treatment in men. In this proposal we want to conduct a 14 day trial in a total of 60 men with schizophrenia. 30 men would receive 2mg of oral estrogen plus antipsychotic drug treatment and their results would be compared with 30 men who received standard antipsychotic drug treatment plus a placebo tablet identical in appearance to estrogen. For 14 days, this low dose of estrogen is very safe. Potentially estrogen may be a useful addition to the current standard treatment of schizophrenia. It may decrease the duration of acute illness and in women it may have a role in preventing relapses of schizophrenia as well as improving the general health of women with schizophrenia.