Breath Ammonia Detection in Patients with Schizophrenia Using Laser Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

Over the years schizophrenia become a challenging disorder in the understanding of its causes, course and treatment. The processes for the causes of neuropsychiatric disturbances in schizophrenia are still not completely known. Investigating metabolic changes in schizophrenia is important to capture valuable insights about mechanisms, progression, and diagnostic biomarkers. Priority of investigation in any patient with psychiatric presentation is recommended to be ammonia. We used CO2 laser photoacoustic spectroscopy method to analyze breath ammonia levels in 15 patients with schizophrenia that not withdrawn from their usual medication and 13 control subjects without schizophrenia. Breath ammonia concentrations were evaluated and compared between study group and the group with schizophrenia. The interesting observation is that the breath ammonia levels of patients with schizophrenia are clearly increased compared with healthy subjects. The measurements of breath ammonia presented here demonstrate the quality of breath analyses that can be achieved using CO2 laser photoacoustic spectroscopy method. Breath ammonia analysis might offer a new approach to the detection of schizophrenia and better understanding of the metabolic basis of this disorder.