Plasma quantification of cholesterol oxides in individuals at high risk for psychosis. Moreno, M.B.T., Talib, L.L. Neuroscience Laboratory LIM-27, Institute of Psychiatry at HCFMUSP, São Paulo/SP, Brasil.

Even before showing frank psychosis, patients show behavioral changes that allow monitoring and tracking these individuals. Therefore, criteria called Ultra High Risk (UHR) for psychosis were created. However, the conversion rates of individuals in the UHR to overt psychosis vary widely and a great deal of effort has been made to make these criteria more specific. Changes in lipid composition have been widely described in psychotic disorders and may be an important tool for better characterization of UHR individuals. Cholesterol is an essential component in the structure and function of cell membranes and has been linked to neuropsychiatric diseases. To maintain cerebral cholesterol homeostasis, it is converted into cholesterol oxides, mainly 24-hydroxycholesterol (24-OHC) and 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC).