Proteomics of schizophrenia: the search for biomarkers in platelets

• Grant number: 16/23181-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: May 08, 2017
• End date: November 07, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Wagner Farid Gattaz
• Grantee: Helena Passarelli Giroud Joaquim Nadal
• Supervisor: Christoph W Turck
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psiquiatria Doutor Antonio Carlos Pacheco e Silva (IPq). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Max Planck Society, Munich, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/10350-9 - Proteomics of schizophrenia: the search for biomarkers in platelets, BP.DR

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder that affects about 1% of the world's population. Despite considerable progress in recent years, the etiology of the disease has not yet been clarified. The beginning and the progression of the disease are heterogeneous and often the patients' symptoms are common to other neuropsychiatric disorders, making differentiation and diagnosis through essentially clinical methods. So we have sought to identify measures based on molecular characteristics, which justify and explain the etiology of schizophrenia. There are already some studies with markers in the brain, but for this to be a material with limited availability; efforts have focused on finding a peripheral biomarker. This study aims to draw a platelet protein profile of drug-naïve patients in first psychotic episode. Will also be evaluated a group of healthy controls for comparison. To this end, the Proteomics is a good methodology whereas provides a complete profile of proteins at a given time and in a specific organism. (AU)