DISTURBANCES OF FOLATE METABOLISM IN SCHIZOPHRENIA AS A SYSTEMIC MULTIMODAL FACTOR OF ETIOPATHOGENESIS AND COMORBIDITY: A CLINICAL CASE

Abstract

According to the literature, folate metabolism disturbances are associated with a risk of schizophrenia, its poor prognosis (severity of negative and cognitive symptoms), an adverse response to drug treatment, and the development of a metabolic syndrome in a patient. This biochemical risk factor is studied in schizophrenia both from the standpoint of dysontogenesis and from the standpoint of neurodegeneration; it has a complex etiopathogenetic effect on a number of organs and systems, which partially explains the high comorbidity of schizophrenia with somatic diseases. This article presents a clinical case that demonstrates the consistency and multimodality of the effects of one-carbon metabolism disturbances, as well as the possibility and prospects of their correction even in patients with a long, severe, resistant course of the disease. Key words: schizophrenia, folate deficiency, hyperhomocysteinemia, comorbidity, dysontogenesis