Serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity in female manic-depressive patients.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
M Arató
Publications and source records attributed to M Arató.
Comparative analysis of indices of central dopaminergic functions in man.
Various postulated indices of central dopaminergic activity - cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dopamine (DA), dihydroxy-phenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), noradrenaline (NA), plasma NA, serum prolactin, serum dopamine-hydroxylase (DBH), and platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity - were measured in 30 drug-free inpatients. The mean values and the ranges were similar to those described in the literature. Plasma NA showed significant positive correlation with age. Significant positive correlation was found between CSF DA and its metabolites DOPAC and HVA. Serum DBH activity showed a slight but significant inverse correlation with CSF DA and its two metabolites. CSF NA showed a significant positive correlation with CSF DOPAC, but only in females. Serum DBH activity had no significant correlation either with CSF or with plasma NA levels. These findings suggest that either CSF HVA or DOPAC and DA may be useful indicators of DA metabolism in humans. Serum DBH activity may be in relationship with the central dopaminergic functions.
3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
Dexamethasone suppression test in masked depression.
The dexamethasone suppression test (DST), family history, response to antidepressant medication and short-term course were investigated in 16 female patients with masked depression. Twelve patients showed abnormal DST results, 3 patients had positive family history of affective illness in first-degree relatives, 11 responded well to antidepressant drug treatment and 3 showed definite hypomanic episodes during follow-up. The results suggest that masked depression is a special form of primary (endogenous) depressive illness, and that the DST is a good diagnostic aid not only in the 'classical' but also in masked forms of depressive disorders.
Adult↗
Amine metabolites and neuroendocrine responses related to depression and suicide.
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid of 57 drug-free female patients with DSM-III diagnoses of major unipolar or bipolar depression (n = 14), schizophrenic disorder (n = 18), alcohol dependence (n = 13) and a group of other disorders (n = 12). Following lumbar punctures all patients received a dexamethasone suppression test. Fourteen patients had attempted suicide immediately before admission, 4 of them by violent methods. Severity of depression, independent of the diagnosis, was assessed in every patient on the 24-item Hamilton scale. No significant differences in means and variances of amine metabolite or postdexamethasone plasma cortisol concentrations were found among the diagnostic subgroups. Suicidal patients, and in particular those who used violent methods, tended to have lower 5-HIAA, but not HVA, in their CSF; they also more often had non-suppression of cortisol after dexamethasone. Since correlation matrices in the diagnostic subgroups were homogeneous, we calculated partial correlations for the total group: here suicide attempts but not depression, seemed to be significantly correlated with CSF 5-HIAA. Thyrotropin stimulation tests were administered to 6 patients: maximal TSH responses showed a borderline significant correlation with CSF 5-HIAA, and a significant correlation with severity of depression. Neither suicide nor postdexamethasone cortisol levels showed any relation to maximal TSH changes.
Alcoholism↗
Amine metabolites, neuroendocrine findings, and personality dimensions as correlates of suicidal behavior.
Levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 62 female inpatients with major depression (n = 19), schizophrenic disorder (n = 18), alcohol dependence (n = 13), and other disorders (n = 12). Nineteen patients had attempted suicide immediately before admission, and six had used violent methods. Fifty-three patients received a dexamethasone suppression test (DST) following lumbar puncture and all completed the Marke-Nyman Temperament Scale (Hungarian version) within 10 days. CSF 5-HIAA was significantly lower in patients who had made violent suicide attempts, but did not differ between suicide attempters who had taken drug overdoses and nonattempters. CSF HVA showed no significant differences. Dexamethasone nonsuppression occurred more frequently among attempters, but this difference did not reach statistical significance. Among the three personality dimensions of the Marke-Nyman Scale, validity was lower and stability higher in suicidal patients; both findings were more pronounced in the violent subgroup. CSF 5-HIAA and Marke-Nyman validity were inversely correlated to each other in all three subgroups, and violent attempters could be separated from the other two groups by their simultaneously low CSF 5-HIAA values and Marke-Nyman validity scores.
Adult↗
The relationships of neuroendocrine tests in endogenous depression.
Amphetamine induced growth hormone (GH) response (Study 1) and TRH induced TSH response (Study 2) were assessed in patients with endogenous depression (n = 20 and n = 22, respectively), who underwent a dexamethasone suppression test (DST) on the following day. The GH response to the amphetamine was significantly lower in the group of depressed patients than in the healthy controls (n = 13). There was no difference between the DST nonsuppressors (n = 12) and suppressors (n = 8) in the GH peak values. This data strongly suggests that the two tests are independent from each other. There was no significant relationship between the DST and TRH-TSH results. Patients with blunted TSH response to TRH have had significantly higher cerebrospinal fluid 5-HIAA levels.
Adult↗
Reduced serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity in paranoid schizophrenics.
The serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity of 134 carefully selected paranoid schizophrenic patients was compared with that of 118 normal controls. Significantly reduced serum DBH activity found in the schizophrenic group in comparison to the control group could not be brought into relationship with the patients' age, nor with neuroleptic treatment. Manic depressive patients showed values similar to the normal control group. It is discussed that mainly genetically determined low serum DBH activity may be related to the hyperdopaminergic pathomechanism of paranoid schizophrenia.
Aging↗
The effect of dexamethasone on cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites and cortisol in psychiatric patients.
The effect of 1 mg dexamethasone on CSF levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5 HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA) and cortisol (CS) was investigated in 100 psychiatric inpatients: 45 subjects had their lumbar punctures 1-4 days following dexamethasone administration, and the results were compared with those from 55 other patients investigated before drug ingestion. All patients were women, and none had received psychotropic medication for at least two weeks before the study. Seven subjects consented to two LPs both before and after dexamethasone. As expected, cortisol in the CSF significantly decreased after dexamethasone: the decrease was greatest 10 hours following the drug. HVA showed a weak and transient elevation after 10 hours only. CSF 5 HIAA was found to be significantly increased in postdexamethasone samples and high levels were still found even after 82 hours. Diagnostic differences (major or minor depression, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse or dependence) did not account for the observed differences. Repeated CSF examinations in seven subjects corroborated these findings: all cortisol values were decreased and all 5 HIAA values were increased after dexamethasone while HVA values showed random changes. The data may suggest that serotonergic mechanisms may be involved in dexamethasone action in the CNS. In addition, dexamethasone administration can alter CSF 5 HIAA level, a possible factor which should be taken into consideration in CSF studies.
Adult↗
Association between high platelet MAO activity and response to MAO inhibitor in depressed bipolars: case reports.
The authors describe two female patients with bipolar I depression who did not respond to tricyclic antidepressants in their previous depressive episodes and were prophylactic lithium nonresponders. Both patients showed a high pretreatment platelet MAO activity and responded well and rapidly to monoamine oxidase inhibition (MAOI) treatment. These findings suggest that although bipolar depressed patients show a low platelet MAO activity, there may be a subgroup with high enzyme activity. These patients revealed a low tendency to respond to tricyclic antidepressants and showed rapid improvement on MAOI therapy.
Bipolar Disorder↗
An early phase II trial with L-deprenyl for the treatment of neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism.
The effect of L-deprenyl on neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism was evaluated in eleven patients. No significant improvement was observed during the treatment with L-deprenyl in the overall assessment. Four patients, however, were considered responders as their total scores on the modified version of Neurological Rating Scale decreased by at least 50%. No somatic or mental complications were observed during the study. The pretreatment platelet monoamine oxidase activity of the responders was slightly but not significantly higher than that of the non-responders. The plasma prolactin (PRL) levels of the patients with high pretreatment levels decreased significantly during the administration of L-deprenyl.
Adult↗
Reduced platelet MAO activity in healthy male students with blood group O.
The association between the two genetic markers of affective disorders, ABO blood group system and platelet MAO (monoamine oxidase) activity was studied in 70 healthy young males. The platelet MAO activity of subjects with blood type O was significantly lower than that of subjects with blood type A and with blood types A + B AB + B together. This finding could constitute a "bridge" between the two genetic approaches to affective disorders.
ABO Blood-Group System↗
Relationship between cerebrospinal fluid amine metabolites, neuroendocrine findings and personality dimensions (Marke-Nyman scale factors) in psychiatric patients.
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured in the spinal fluid of 45 women hospitalized in a psychiatric department for major depression (14 cases), schizophrenia (18 cases) and alcohol dependence (13 cases). Dexamethasone suppression tests were performed following CSF examinations in all patients, and TRH stimulation tests were also made in six subjects. All biological examinations were carried out in a drug-free state. The Marke-Nyman Temperament scale was administered to all patients as soon as severe psychotic disturbances subsided and sufficient cooperation was achieved, but no later than 10 days following biological examinations. The MNT was repeated after recovery to check reliability of the test results during an episode of a psychiatric disorder. CSF amine metabolite concentrations did not differ significantly in the three patient groups; postdexamethasone average cortisol levels were above the critical level (5 micrograms/dl) in each group, the highest values being found in major depression. One of the three MNT factors was inhomogeneous among diagnostic groups (validity: low in depression and alcoholism), but the other two also differed from a healthy control population. Correlation structure between biological and psychological variables was homogeneous throughout the diagnoses and a significant inverse correlation was found only between CSF 5-HIAA and the validity factor of MNT. Maximal TSH response to TRH stimulation correlated with both solidity and stability in the MNT scale. Since MNT results proved to be stable even during an illness episode, a possible link is suggested between personality traits and central serotonin metabolism.
Alcoholism↗
Serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity and family history of patients with bipolar manic-depressive illness.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
Red blood cell/plasma lithium ratio in manic-depressive, schizoaffective, and schizophrenic patients.
The red blood cell/plasma lithium ratio (LR) has been studied in 14 schizophrenic (paranoid type), 22 schizoaffective, and 86 manic-depressive patients. Mean LR proved to be significantly higher in manic-depressive patients (p less than 0.001) as compared to the other two groups which on the other hand did not differ significantly from each other. There was no significant difference in the LR between female and male patients. Analyzing the LR according to family history and subtype of illness (i.e., bipolar I/bipolar II dichotomization) of 86 manic-depressive patients we found that neither sex nor type of illness had consistent influence on LR, but patients with positive family history of affective illness had a significantly higher LR than patients with negative ones (p less than 0.01).
Bipolar Disorder↗
[Possibilities of neuro-endocrine examination methods in depression].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Depression↗
Cerebrospinal fluid biochemical examinations: do they reflect clinical or biological differences?
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), cortisol (CS), tryptophan (TRY), and calcium (Ca) concentrations were measured in the spinal fluid of 85 female psychiatric inpatients in a drug-free state; 32 women suffered from major depression, another 32 had schizophrenic (or schizophreniform) disorder, and 21 had alcohol dependence as defined by DSM-III criteria. A dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was carried out following lumbar punctures in all patients. Biochemical results were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance to test the effect of diagnosis and dexamethasone nonsuppression. CS concentration proved to be significantly higher in dexamethasone nonsuppressors, independent of the diagnosis. HVA was lower in nonsuppressors, particularly in alcohol-dependent patients; 5HIAA showed a tendency to be higher in nonsuppressor depressed patients. TRY was again higher in nonsuppressors, significant only in schizophrenic patients. Ca concentration was higher in depression and lower in alcohol dependence, and within the depression group it was higher in normal DST patients. The results indicate that the primarily biological dysfunction, i.e., the limbic-hypothalamic disinhibition reflected in the DST, may be more closely related to spinal fluid biochemistry than clinical syndromes.
Adult↗
[Laboratory diagnosis of endogenous depression: the dexamethasone suppression test].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Depressive Disorder↗
The red blood cell/plasma lithium ratio: marker of biological heterogeneity within bipolar affective illness?
The red blood cell/plasma concentration ratio (LR) was studied in 45 female patients with bipolar affective illness who responded to prophylactic lithium treatment. Patients were subdivided according to bipolar I vs. bipolar II diagnosis and presence vs. absence of a family history of affective illness. Mean LRs were significantly higher in bipolar II patients and in those with a positive family history of affective illness, but there was no relationship between diagnosis and family history. Results indicate that LR is genetically controlled and may be a biological marker distinguishing bipolar I and bipolar II patients, and also patients with positive or negative family history of affective illness.
Adult↗