Chronic Schizophrenia
Conditions
Keywords
schizophrenia, oxygen therapy
Brief summary
Due to intense ATP-consuming processes in the brain, a high level of brain energy supply is required. A popular hypothesis regarding the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of schizophrenia postulates hypofunction of neuronal circuits in the prefrontal and limbic-temporal areas. An emerging body of data suggests that impaired energy metabolism due to mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Under normal conditions cellular metabolic rate, i.e. oxygen and glucose consumption, increases proportionally with any increase in neuronal activity. The impaired energy metabolism due to mitochondrial dysfunction and frontal lobe hypofunction might be improved by increasing O2 supply to the brain. Oxygen-enriched air inhalation has been shown to increase brain oxygen supply. Hyperoxia therapy is a useful tool in the treatment of neurological and neurotrauma deficits. We therefore suggest a randomized double blind cross-over study of enriched inspired O2 partial pressure in schizophrenia. It is surprising given the numerous findings on reduced energy metabolism in schizophrenia that simple treatment with inspired enriched oxygen has not been studied.
Interventions
DRUGoxygen
Patients will be treated with oxygen for 1 month and then for 1 month with regular air with the same flow rate and procedure or randomly in the opposite order. We propose to enrich the inspired oxygen partial pressure from 21 kPA to \ 40 kPa in a double blind cross-over design. Ninety percent oxygen or regular air will be supplied from oxygen concentrators, through standard plastic nasal prongs, at a flow rate of 5 liters/minute, for 7 hours/day, throughout the night.
Sponsors
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
Beersheva Mental Health Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* 18-45 years old * 2 years of illness * PANSS more than 60
Exclusion criteria
* unstable or serious physical illness * suicidality * drug abuse * BMI above 30 * taking anti-hypertension medication
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| PANSS | every two weeks |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Clinical Global Impressions | every two weeks |
Countries
Israel
Contacts
Primary ContactYuly Bersudsky, MD, PhD
Outcome results
None listed