%0 Journal Article
%T N-terminal fragment of B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a marker of cardiac safety during antipsychotic treatment
%A Stefan Kropp
%A Argyro Tountopoulou
%A Udo Schneider
%A Ralf Lichtinghagen
%J Annals of General Psychiatry
%D 2005
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1744-859x-4-10
%X On a routine basis, patient's blood samples were examined for NT-proBNP on days 0, 7 and 21 after initiation of a new antipsychotic monotherapy. All plasma samples were analysed for NT-proBNP using an electrochemiluminiscence immunoassay "ECLIA" (proBNP kit, Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) on an Elecsys 2010 analyser.A difference was found in NT-proBNP values at day 0 between patients younger versus older than 40 years. Also women had comparatively lower NTproBNP on days 7 and 21. Smokers' levels of NT-proBNP values decreased more from day 0 to day 7.Our results suggest that antipsychotic medication influences the plasma concentration of NT-proBNP, suggesting a possible method to identify high-risk-patients for cardiovascular adverse effects due to antipsychotic medication. Larger studies should further test this hypothesis.The potential cardiotoxicity of antipsychotic drugs has been recognized since the 1960s [1]. The most known of these cardiological side effects is the QT-prolongation in the electrocardiogram (ECG), which predisposes to a life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia known as Torsades de Pointes (TdP) and sudden death. Other cardiac adverse effects related to antipsychotic medication such as myocarditis and cardiomyopathy with sometimes fatal effect have been recently reported [2]. Brain or B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) belongs to a family of vasoactive peptides and is primarily synthesized by the ventricular myocardium [3]. It acts as a key regulator in the homeostasis of water and salt excretion and in the maintenance of blood pressure [4] mainly by inhibiting the renin-angiotensin-aldosteron-axis and blocking the cardiac sympathetic nervous activity [4,5]. Its synthesis and secretion as proBNP is activated by myocyte stretch [6]. In this process it is split into physiologically active BNP and the N-terminal fragment NT-proBNP. Both are considered to be valuable biomarkers in clinical practice for the prediction of disease state and prognosi
%U http://www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/4/1/10