Abstract
Schizophrenic patients are extremely heavy tobacco smokers. However, a lower incidence of lung cancer in schizophrenic patients has been observed in comparison to other heavy smokers. Nicotine increases the proliferation of pulmonary neuroendocrine tissue, causing the release of a bombesin-like peptide. Thus, bombesin-like peptide levels in urine may be an indicator of precancerous, cigarette-induced lung damage. Bombesin-like peptide levels of 10 schizophrenic smokers and 11 schizophrenic nonsmokers were compared to those of nonschizophrenic subjects matched for age and pack-years of smoking. The nonschizophrenic smokers showed the expected increase in urinary bombesin-like peptide levels, as compared to nonschizophrenic nonsmokers. Schizophrenic patients had lower bombesin-like peptide levels independent of smoking effects. The mechanism of the difference in bombesin-like peptide levels between schizophrenic patients and nonschizophrenic subjects is unknown, but one possibility involves alteration in the α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, which mediates the growth of some neuroendocrine cell lines in vitro.
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This research was supported by N-A-R-S-A-D, the Veterans Administration Medical Research Service, and USPHS Grants MH4212, MH38321.
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Olincy, A., Leonard, S., Young, D. et al. Decreased Bombesin Peptide Response to Cigarette Smoking in Schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacol 20, 52–59 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(98)00053-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(98)00053-0
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