Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T21:13:40.093Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Decreased Imipramine Binding in the Brains of Patients with Depressive Illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

E. K. Perry
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropathology, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE
E. F. Marshall
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
G. Blessed
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Brighton Clinic, Newcastle General Hospital
B. E. Tomlinson
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Newcastle General Hospital
R. H. Perry
Affiliation:
MRC Neuroendocrinology Unit, Newcastle General Hospital

Summary

The binding of tritiated imipramine was significantly reduced in the hippocampus and occipital cortex from a series of patients with depressive illness compared with age-matched patients with no psychiatric disorder. In contrast there was no change in imipramine binding in established cases of senile dementia of Alzheimer-type. Scatchard analysis indicated normal binding affinity but a reduction in the number of imipramine binding sites in depression. These observations parallel previous findings of decreased binding sites in platelets from depressed patients and suggest there may be an abnormality in the uptake mechanism for serotonin in depression.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arbilla, S., Briley, M., Cathala, F., Langer, S. Z., Pornin, D. & Raisman, R. (1981) Parallel changes in (3H)-imipramine binding sites in cat brain and platelets following chronic treatment with imipramine. British Journal of Pharmacology, 72, 154–5.Google Scholar
Blessed, G., Crow, T. J., Cross, A. J., Perry, E. K., Perry, R. H. & Tomlinson, B. E. (1982) Monoaminergic function in postmortem brain in depression. Abstract 13th CINP Congress, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Briley, M. S., Langer, S. Z., Raisman, R., Sechter, D. & Zarifian, E. (1980) Tritiated imipramine binding sites are decreased in platelets of untreated depressed patients. Science, 209, 303–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coppen, A., Swade, C. & Wook, K. (1978) Platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine accumulation in depressive illness. Clinical Chemical Acta, 87, 165–8.Google Scholar
Gottfries, C. G. (1980) Amine metabolism in normal ageing and in dementia disorders. in Biochemistry of Dementia (ed. P. J. Roberts), pp 213–34. Chichester: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Green, A R. & Costain, D. W. (1981) Pharmacology and Biochemistry of Psychiatric Disorders. Chichester: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Kinnier, W. J., Mawchuang, D. & Costa, E. (1980) Down regulation of dihydroalprenolol and imipramine binding sites in brains of rats repeatedly treated with imipramine. European Journal of Pharmacology, 67, 289–94.Google Scholar
Langer, S. Z., Javoy-Agid, F., Raisman, R., Briley, M. & Agid, Y. (1981) Distribution of specific high affinity binding sites for (3H) imipramine in human brain. Journal of Neurochemistry, 37, 267–71.Google Scholar
Lloyd, K. G., Farley, I. J., Deck, J. H. N. & Hornykiewicz, O. (1974) Serotonin and 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid in discrete areas of the brain stem of suicide victims and control patients. Advances in Biochemical Psychopharmacology, 11, 387–97.Google Scholar
Lowry, O. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L. & Randall, R. J. (1951) Protein measurement with the folin phenol reagent. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 193, 265–75.Google Scholar
Meltzer, H. Y., Arora, R. C., Baber, R. & Tricou, B. J. (1981) Serotonin uptake in blood platelets of psychiatric patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 1322–6.Google Scholar
Paul, S. M., Rehavi, M., Rice, K. C., Ittah, Y. & Skolnick, P. (1981) Does high affinity 3H-imipramine binding label serotonin reuptake sites in brain and platelet? Life Sciences, 28, 2253–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, S. M., Rehavi, M., Skolnick, P., Ballenger, J. C. & Goodwin, F. K. (1981) Depressed patients have decreased binding of triated imipramine-platelet serotonin “transporter”. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 1315–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, E. K., Tomlinson, B. E., Blessed, G., Bergmann, K., Gibson, P. H. & Perry, R. H. (1978) Correlation of cholinergic abnormalities with senile plaques and mental test scores in senile dementia. British Medical Journal, 2, 1457–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raisman, R., Bradley, M. & Langer, S. Z. (1980) Specific tricyclic antidepressant binding sites in rat brain characterized by high affinity 3H-imipramine binding. Europeon Journal of Pharmacology, 612, 373–80.Google Scholar
Sette, M., Raisman, R., Briley, M. & Langer, S. Z. (1981) Localization of tricyclic antidepressant binding sites on serotonin nerve terminals. Journal of Neurochemistry, 37, 40–2.Google Scholar
Shaw, D. M., Camps, F. E. & Eccleston, E. G. (1967) 5-hydroxytryptamine in the hind-brain of depressive suicides. British Journal of Psychiatry, 113, 1407–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stanley, M., Virgilio, J. & Gershon, S. (1982) Tritiated imipramine binding sites are decreased in the frontal cortex of suicides. Science, 216, 1337–9.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.