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A Longitudinal Study of Urinary Excretion of N,N,-Dimethyltryptamine in Psychotic Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

S. A. Checkley ,
R. M. Murray ,
M. C. H. Oon ,
R. Rodnight  and
J. L. T. Birley
S. A. Checkley
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF
R. M. Murray
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF
M. C. H. Oon
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF
R. Rodnight
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF
J. L. T. Birley
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF
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Summary

The excretion of N,N,-dimethlytryptamine (DMT) has been measured in longitudinal studies of five patients with schizophrenic illnesses and in four patients with rapidly or slowly cycling manic-depressive illness. The excretion of DMT was frequently raised in patients when they were psychotic but was usually normal when they had recovered. However, rapid changes in the severity of illness or sudden switches from one mood state to another were not accompanied by changes in the excretion of DMT. These findings contrast with the immediate hallucinogenic effects of an injection of DMT, and suggest that the extracerebral production of DMT (as measured by its urinary excretion) does not provoke the experience of hallucinations in psychotic patients.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 137 , Issue 3 , September 1980 , pp. 236 - 239
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1980 

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