Tier 2 — strong

The effects of glycine on auditory mismatch negativity in schizophrenia

Greenwood LM, Leung S, Michie PT, Green A, Nathan PJ, Fitzgerald P, Johnston P, Solowij N, Kulkarni J, Croft RJ
Schizophrenia research 2018 191:61-69

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 28602646
DOI
10.1016/j.schres.2017.05.031
Funding
Indexed support: National Health and Medical Research Council. See the publication for grant and funder details.
Competing interests
The accessible abstract does not establish the authors' competing interests; absence of a statement is not evidence of no conflicts.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized controlled human intervention
ModelAdult humans
Sample22 patients randomized: 12 glycine and 10 placebo; 21 healthy baseline controls
InterventionGlycine 0.2 g/kg initially, increased to 0.6 g/kg/day, alongside stable antipsychotics
DurationAcute 45-minute assessment and 6 weeks treatment
EndpointsMismatch negativity; PANSS symptoms

What the study showed, in plain terms

This trial combined a short-term brain-response measure with six-week clinical follow-up. Acute and chronic electrophysiology findings differed, while selected symptom outcomes favored glycine.

Key findings

  • Acute glycine increased duration mismatch negativity relative to placebo.
  • The electrophysiological difference was absent at six weeks.
  • Selected PANSS outcomes improved with chronic treatment.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Small sample with several symptom and biomarker analyses.

An acute marker change does not establish a validated predictor of clinical response.

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Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction