Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T21:00:04.881Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of Psychotropic Drugs on Excitatory Amino Acids in Patients Undergoing Psychosurgery for Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

M. N. Pangalos ,
A. L. Malizia ,
P. T. Francis ,
S. L. Lowe ,
P. H. F. Bertolucci ,
A. W. Procter ,
P. K. Bridges ,
J. R. Bartlett  and
D. M. Bowen
M. N. Pangalos
Affiliation:
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ
A. L. Malizia
Affiliation:
Geoffrey Knight Unit for Affective Disorders, Brook General Hospital, London SE18 4LW
P. T. Francis
Affiliation:
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ
S. L. Lowe
Affiliation:
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ
P. H. F. Bertolucci
Affiliation:
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ
A. W. Procter*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, UMDS–Guy's Hospital Campus, London SE1 9RJ
P. K. Bridges
Affiliation:
Geoffrey Knight Unit for Affective Disorders, Brook General Hospital, London SE18 4LW
J. R. Bartlett
Affiliation:
Geoffrey Knight Unit for Affective Disorders, Brook General Hospital, London SE18 4LW
D. M. Bowen
Affiliation:
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Samples of ventricular CSF were taken from 52 consecutive patients admitted for psychosurgery for intractable depression. Concentrations of asparagine, aspartate, glutamine, glutamic acid, and serine were determined. Glutamate and aspartate concentrations, implicated in excitotoxic brain damage, were not affected by various types of psychotropic drug treatment. Serine, a modulator of glutamate responses, was significantly elevated in samples from subjects receiving antidepressants. These subjects responded poorly to the operation. Psychotropic drugs are unlikely to be neurotoxic. Nevertheless, antidepressants may influence excitatory neurotransmission.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 160 , Issue 5 , May 1992 , pp. 638 - 642
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1992 

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

Bowen, D. M. (1990) Treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Molecular pathology versus neurotransmitter-based therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 327–330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clifford, D. B., Rutherford, J. L., Hicks, F. G., et al (1985) Acute effects of antidepressants on hippocampal seizures. Annals of Neurology, 18, 692–697.Google Scholar
Corsellis, J. A. N. (1962) Mental Illness and the Ageing Brain. Maudsley Monograph No. 9, pp. 29–32. London: Oxford University Press Google Scholar
Crawford, P. M., Lloyd, K. G. & Chadwick, D. W. (1988) CSF gradients for amino acid concentrations. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 51, 1193–1200.Google Scholar
Deakin, J. F. W., Slater, P., Simpson, M. D. C., et al (1989) Frontal cortical and left temporal glutamatergic dysfunction in schizophrenia. Journal of Neurochemistry, 52, 1781–1786.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dolan, R. J., Calloway, S. P., Thacker, P. F., et al (1986) The cerebral cortical appearance in depressed subjects. Psychological Medicine, 16, 775–779.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Engelsen, B. A., Fosse, V. M., Myrseth, E., et al (1985) Elevated concentrations of glutamate and aspartate in human ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (VCSF) during episodes of increased CSF pressure and clinical signs of impaired brain circulation. Neuroscience Letters, 62, 97–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Francis, P. T., Poynton, A., Lowe, S. L., et al (1989) Brain amino acid concentrations and Ca2+-dependent release in intractable depression assessed antemortem. Brain Research, 494, 315–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hagenfeldt, L., Bjerkenstedt, L., Edman, G., et al (1984) Amino acids in plasma and CSF and monoamine metabolites in CSF: interrelationship in healthy subjects. Journal of Neurochemistry, 42, 833–837.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hale, A. S., Procter, A. W. & Bridges, P. K. (1987) Clomipramine, tryptophan and lithium in combination for resistant endogenous depression; 7 case studies. British Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 213–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeste, D. V., Lohr, J. B. & Goodwin, F. K. (1988) Anatomical studies of major affective disorders. A review and suggestions for further research. British Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 444–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J. W. & Ascher, P. (1987) Glycine potentiates the NMDA response in cultured mouse brain neurones. Nature, 325, 529–531.Google Scholar
Joint Formulary Committee (1990) British National Formulary, No. 19. London: British Medical Association and the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.Google Scholar
Kerwin, R. W. (1989) How do the neuropathological changes of schizophrenia relate to pre-existing neurotransmitter and aetiological hypothesis? Psychological Medicine, 19, 563–567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marvizon, J. G. & Skolnick, P. (1990) An endogenous modulator of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-coupled glycine receptors. European Journal of Pharmacology, 188, 23–32.Google Scholar
McGale, E. H. F., Pye, I. F., Stonier, C., et al (1977) Studies of the inter-relationships between cerebrospinal fluid and plasma amino acid concentrations in normal individuals. Journal of Neurochemistry, 29, 291–297.Google Scholar
Perschak, H., Amsler, U., Vischer, A., et al (1987) Ventricular fluid cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of putative amino acid transmitters in Parkinson's disease and other disorders. Human Neurobiology, 6, 191–194.Google Scholar
Poynton, A., Bridges, P. K. & Bartlett, J. R. (1988) Psychosurgery in Britain now. British Journal of Neurosurgery, 2, 297–306.Google Scholar
Procter, A. W. & Bowen, D. M. (1987) Aging, the cerebral neocortex and psychiatric disorder. In Molecular Neuropathology of Aging, Banbury Report 27 (eds Davies, P. & Finch, C. E.), pp. 3–20. Cold Spring Harbor: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.Google Scholar
Procter, A. W., Palmer, A. M., Francis, P. T., et al (1988) Evidence of glutamatergic denervation and possible abnormal metabolism in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Neurochemistry, 50, 790–802.Google Scholar
Procter, A. W., Wong, E. H. F., Stratmann, G. C., et al (1989) Reduced glycine stimulation of [2H]MK-801 binding in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Neurochemistry, 53, 698–704.Google Scholar
Procter, A. W., Stratmann, G. C., Francis, P. T., et al (1991) Characterisation of the glycine modulatory site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor–ionophorc complex in human brain. Journal of Neurochemistry, 56, 299–310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Qureshi, G. A. & Baig, M. S. (1988) Quantitation of free amino acids in biological samples by high-performance liquid chromatography. Applications of the method in evaluating amino acid levels in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of patients with multiple sclerosis. Journal of Chromatography, 459, 237–244.Google Scholar
Reynolds, I. J. & Miller, R. J. (1988) Tricyclic antidepressants block N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors: similarities to the action of zinc. British Journal of Pharmacology, 95, 95–102.Google Scholar
Spink, D. C., Snead, O. C., Swann, J. W., et al (1988) Free amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with infantile spasms. Epilepsia, 29, 300–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trullas, R. & Skolnick, P. (1990) Functional antagonists at the NMDA receptor complex exhibit antidepressant actions. European Journal of Pharmacology, 185, 1–10.Google Scholar
Wood, B. J., Yurgelum-Todd, D., Benes, F. M., et al (1990) Progressive ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia: comparison to bipolar affective disorder and correlation with clinical course. Biological Psychiatry, 27, 341–352.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.