Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T07:07:11.160Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Ventricular Size and CSF Transmitter Metabolite Concentrations in Severe Endogenous Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

H. M. A. S. Standish-Barry*
Affiliation:
University of Leeds, Clinical Sciences Building, St James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF
N. Bouras
Affiliation:
Guy's Hospital Medical School, London SE1 9RT
A. S. Hale
Affiliation:
Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT
P. K. Bridges
Affiliation:
Guy's Hospital, Brook General Hospital, Bexley Hospital. Guy's Hospital Medical School, London SE1 9RT
J. R. Bartlett
Affiliation:
Regional Neurosurgical Centre, Brook General Hospital, Shooters Hill, London SE18 4LW
*
Correspondence

Abstract

The relationship between neurotransmitter metabolite concentrations and measurements of ventricular size on CAT scans and pneumoencephalographs was investigated in 15 patients with severe affective disorder. An association was identified between reduced levels of plasma free tryptophan and ventricular enlargement and also between raised ventricular CSF levels of 5 HIAA and ventricular enlargement.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 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

Asberg, M. H., Traskman, L. & Thoren, P. (1976) 5HIAA in the cerebrospinal fluid. A biochemical suicide predictor. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33 11931197.Google Scholar
Ashcroft, G. W., Crawford, T. B. B., Eccleston, D., Sharman, D. F., Macdougall, E. J., Stanton, J. B. & Binns, J. F. (1966) 5 Hydroxyindole compounds in the cerebro-spinal fluid of patients with psychiatric or neurological diseases. Lancet, ii, 10491052.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashcroft, G. W., Blackburn, J. M., Eccleston, D., Glen, A. I. M., Hartley, W., Kinlock, N. E., Lonergan, M., Murray, L. G. & Puller, I. A. (1973). Changes on recovery in the concentrations of tryptophan and the biogenic amine metabolites in the cerebro-spinal of patients with affective illness. Psychological Medicine, 3, 319325.Google Scholar
Banki, C. M., Molnar, G. & Vojnik, M. (1981). Cerebrospinal fluid amine metabolites, tryptophan and clinical parameters in depression. Journal of Affective Disease, 3, 9199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bloxam, D. L. & Curzon, G. (1978) A study of prepared determinants of brain tryptophan concentration in rats after portacaval anastomosis or sham operation. Journal of Neurochemistry, 31, 12551263.Google Scholar
Bloxam, D. L. & Warren, W. H. (1974) Error in the determination of tryptophan by the method of Oak and Dewey. A revised procedure. Analytical Biochemistry, 60, 621625.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloxam, D. L. & Hutson, P. H. & Curzon, G. (1977) A simple apparatus for the ultrafiltration of small volumes; application to the measurement. Analytical Biochemistry, 83, 130142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bodis-Wellner, I. & Yahr, M. D. (1978) Measurements of visual evoked potentials in Parkinson's Disease. Brain, 101, 661671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridges, P. K. & Bartlett, J. (1977) Psycho-surgery: yesterday and today. British Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 249260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridges, P. K., Bartlett, J., Sepping, P., Kantamaneni, B. D. & Curzon, G. (1976) Precursors and metabolites of 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine in the ventricular cerebrospinal fluid of psychiatry patients. Psychological Medicine, 6, 399405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridges, P. K., Bartlett, J., Gillman, P. K. & Standish-Barry, H. (1981) Selecting patients for psycho-surgery. In Biological Psychiatry. (Eds Perris, C., Struuve, G. and Jameson, B.) Amsterdam: Elsevier North-Holland Biomedical Press.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, 303305.Google Scholar
Cawley, R. H., Post, F. & Whitehead, A. (1973) Barbiturate tolerance and psychological functioning in elderly depressed patients. Psychological Medicine, 3, 3952.Google Scholar
Coppen, A., Eccleston, D. G. & Peet, M. (1973) Total and free tryptophan concentrations in the plasma of depressive patients. Lancet, ii; 6063.Google Scholar
Coppen, A., Prange, A. J., Whybrow, P. C. & Noguera, R. (1972) Abnormalities of indoleamines in affective disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 26, 474478.Google Scholar
Curzon, G. (1965) The biochemistry of depression. In Biochemical Aspects of Neurological disorders (Eds Cumings, J. N. and Kremer, M.) 2nd series, p 257. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Curzon, G. (1969) Tryptophan pyrrolase—a biochemical factor in depressive illness? British Journal of Psychiatry, 115, 1367.Google Scholar
Curzon, G. & Knott, P. J. (1974) Fatty acids and the disposition of tryptophan. Ciba Foundation Symposium, 22, 217. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Curzon, G. & Kantamaneni, B. D. (1977) Fluorimetrie determination of plasma unesterified fatty acid. Clinical Chemistry, 76, 289292.Google Scholar
Curzon, G., Kantamaneni, B. D., Van Boxel, P., Gillman, P. K., Bartlett, J. R. & Bridges, P. K. (1980) Substances related to 5-hydroxytryptamine in plasma and in lumbar and ventricular fluids of psychiatric patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia. Supplement 280, 319.Google Scholar
De Lisi, L. E., Neckers, L. M., Weinberger, D. L. et al (1981) Increased whole blood serotonin concentrations in chronic schizophrenic patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 647650.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, W. A. (1942) An encephalographic ratio for estimating ventricular enlargement and cerebral atrophy. Archives of Neurology, 47, 931937.Google Scholar
Gawler, J., Du Boulay, G. H., Bull, J. O. W. & Marshall, J. (1976) Computerised tomography (the EMI scanner); a comparison with pneumoencephalography and ventriculography. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 39, 203211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillman, P. K., Bartlett, J. R., Bridges, P. K., Kantamaneni, B. D. & Curzon, G. (1980) Relationship between tryptophan concentrations in human plasma cerebrospinal fluid and cerebral cortex following tryptophan infusion. Neuropharmacology, 19, 1241–2.Google Scholar
Glassman, A. & Platman, S. R. (1969) Potentiation of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor by tryptophan. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 7, 8388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goktepe, E. O., Young, L. B. & Bridges, P. K. (1975) A further review of the results of stereotactic subcaudate tractotomy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 270280.Google Scholar
Grahame-Smith, D. J. & Parfitt, A. H. (1970) Tryptophan transport across the synaptosomal membrane. Journal of Neurochemistry, 17, 1339.Google Scholar
Green, A. R. & Curzon, G. (1968) Decrease of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the brain provoked by hydrocortisone and its presentation by allopurinol. Nature, London 220, 1095.Google Scholar
Green, A. R., Curzon, G. & Grahame-Smith, D. G. (1975a) 5-Hydroxytryptamine and other indoles in the central nervous system. In Handbook of Psychopharmacology (eds Iversen, L. L., Iversen, S. D. and Snyder, S. H.) Vol. 3. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Green, A. R., (1978) The effects of dietary tryptophan and its peripheral metabolism on brain 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis and function. Essays Neurochemistry and Neuropharmacology, 3, 71.Google ScholarPubMed
Green, A. R., & Costain, D. W. (1979) The biochemistry of depression. In Psychopharmacology of Affective Disorders (eds Paykel, E. S. and Coppen, A.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hagen, P. B. & Cohen, L. H. (1966) Biosynthesis of indolealkylamines: physiological release and transport of 5-hydroxytryptamine. In Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology (Ed. Erspamer, V.) Vol. 19, 182. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Hendricksen, E., Levy, R. & Post, F. (1979) Averaged evoked responses in relation to cognitive and affective state of elderly psychiatric patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 494501.Google Scholar
Holder, G. E., Bartlett, J. R., Bridges, P. K., Kantameneni, B. D. & Curzon, G. (1980) Correlations between transmitter metabolite concentrations in human ventricular cerebrospinal fluid and pattern evoked potentials. Brain Research, 188, 582586.Google Scholar
Jacoby, R. O., Dolan, R. J., Levy, R. & Baldy, R. (1983) Quantitative computed tomography in elderly depressed patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 124127.Google Scholar
Jacoby, R. O., Dolan, R. J. & Levy, R. (1980) Computed tomography in the elderly. British Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 249255.Google Scholar
Jernigan, T. L., Zatz, L. M., Moses, J. H. Jr. & Berger, P. A. (1982) Computed tomography in schizophrenics and normal volunteers. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 765.Google Scholar
Knight, G. (1965) Stereotactic tractomy in the surgical treatment of mental illness. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 28, 304310.Google Scholar
Knox, W. E. & Auerbach, V. H. (1955) The hormonal control of tryptophan peroxide in the rat. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 214, 307.Google Scholar
Korf, J., Valkenburgh-Sikkema, T. (1969) Fluorimetric determination of 5 hydroxyindoleacetic acid in human urine and cerebro-spinal fluid. Clinica Chimica Acta, 26, 301306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luchins, D. J. (1982). Computerised tomography in schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 859860.Google Scholar
McMenamy, R. H. & Oncley, J. L. (1958) The specific binding of L-tryptophan to serum albumin. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 233, 1436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mandell, A. J. (1963) Some determinants of indole excretion in man. Recent Advances in Biological Psychiatry, 5, 137.Google Scholar
Meltner, H. Y., Arora, R. C., Baber, R. & Tricou, B. J. (1981) Serotonin uptake in blood platelets of psychiatric patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 1322–26.Google Scholar
Moir, A. T. B. (1971) Interactions in the cerebral metabolism of the biogenic amines: effect of the intravenous infusion of L-tryptophan on the tryptophan and tyrosine in brain and body fluid. British Journal of Psychiatry, 43, 724.Google Scholar
Nyback, H., Wiesel, F. A., Hindmarsh, T. & Sedvall, G. (1983) Cerebroventricular volume and cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites in schizophrenic patients and in healthy volunteers. Psychiatry Research, 9, 301308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, S. M., Rehavi, M., Skolnich, P., Ballenger, J. B. & Goodwin, F. K. (1981) Depressed patients have decreased binding in tritiated imipramine to platelet serotonin “transporter”. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 13151317.Google Scholar
Pearlson, G. O. & Veroff, A. E. (1981) Computerised tomographic scan changes in manic-depressive illness. Lancet ii, 470.Google Scholar
Pearlson, G. O., Garbacz, D. J., Tompkins, R. H., Ahn, H. S., Gutterman, D. F. & Veroff, A. E. (1984) Clinical correlates of lateral ventricular enlargement in bipolar affective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 141:2, 253256.Google Scholar
Penn, R. O., Belanger, M. G. & Yasnoff, W. A. (1978) Ventricular volume in man computed from CAT scans. Annals of Neurology, 3, 216223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Post, R. M., Gerner, R. H., Carmon, J. S., Gillin, J. C., Jimerson, D. C., Goodwin, F. K. & Bunney, W. E. (1978) Effects of a dopamine agonist pirbedil in depressive patients: relationship of pretreatment HVA to antidepressant response. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 609615.Google Scholar
Post, R. M., Jimerson, D. C., Bunney, W. E. & Goodwin, F. K. (1980) Dopamine and mania: behavioural and biochemical effects of the dopamine receptor blocker pimozide. Psychopharmacology, 67, 297305.Google Scholar
Potkin, S. G., Weinberger, D. R., Linnoila, M. & Wyatt, R. J. (1983) 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid in Schizophrenic patients with enlarged cerebral ventricles. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 2125.Google ScholarPubMed
Riley, G. J. & Shaw, O. M. (1976) Total and non-bound tryptophan in unipolar disease. Lancet, ii, 1249.Google Scholar
Rimon, R., Roos, B. E., Kampman, R. et al (1979) Monoamine metabolite levels in cerebrospinal fluid and brain atrophy in lobotomized schizophrenic patients. Annals of Clinical Research, 11, 2529.Google Scholar
Shaw, P. M., Johnson, A. L., Tidmarsh, S. F., Mac Sweeney, D. A., Hewland, H. R. & Woolcock, N. E. (1974) Multi compartmental analysis of amino acids. I Preliminary data on concentrations, fluxes, flow constants of tryptophan in affective illness. Psychological Medicine, 5, 206213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaw, P. M., (1976) Unipolar affective illness. Lancet ii, 363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shopsin, B., Friedman, E. & Gershon, S. (1974) Parachlorophenylalanine reversal of tranylcypromine effects in depressed patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 811819.Google Scholar
Spitzer, R. C., Endicott, J. & Robins, E. (1977) Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for a Selected Group of Functional Disorders. Third edition. New York Psychiatric Institute.Google Scholar
Standish-Barry, H. M. A. S., Bouras, N., Bridges, P. K. & Bartlett, J. R. (1982) Pneumoencephalographic and computerised axial tomography scan changes in affective disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 614617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sullivan, P. A., Murnaghan, O., Callaghan, N., Kantamaneni, B. O. & Curzon, G. (1978). Cerebral transmitter precursors and metabolites in advanced renal disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 41, 581588.Google Scholar
Synek, V., Reuben, J. R. & Du Boulay, G. H. (1976) Comparing Evans Index and computerised axial tomography in assessing relationship of ventricular size to brain size. Neurology, 26, 232233.Google Scholar
Ternaux, J. P., Hery, F., Bouroin, S., Adrien, J., Glowinski, J. & Hamon, M. (1977) The topographical distribution of serotonergic terminals in the neostratium of the rat and caudate nucleus of the cat. Brain Research, 12, 315326.Google Scholar
Tuonisto, J. & Tukainen, E. (1976) Decreased uptake of 5 hydroxytryptamine in blood platelets from depressed patients. Nature, 263, 596598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ungerstedt, U. (1971) Stereotoxic mapping of the monoamine pathways in the rat brain. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, Suppl. 397, 148.Google Scholar
Van Praag, H. M. & Korf, J. (1974) Serotonin metabolism in depression; clinical application of the proberecid test. International Pharmacopsychiatry, 9, 3551.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waalkes, T. P. & Udenfried, S. (1957) A fluorimetric method for the estimation of tyrosine in plasma and tissues. Journal of Laboratory & Clinical Medicine, 50, 733736.Google Scholar
Walinder, J., Skott, A., Carlson, A., Nagy, A. & Roos, B. E. (1976) Potentiation of the antidepressant action of clomipramine by tryptophan. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 13841389.Google Scholar
West, K. A., Edwinson, L., Nielson, K. G. & Roos, B. E. (1972) Concentration of acid mono amine metabolites in ventricular CSF of patients with posterior fossa tumours. In Intracranial Pressure. (Eds. Broch, M. Dietz, M and H.). Berlin: Springer Google Scholar
Weinberger, D. R., De Lisi, L. E., Perman, G. P., Targum, S. & Wyatt, R. J. (1982) Computed tomography in schizophreniform disorder and other acute psychiatric disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 778.Google Scholar
Wurtman, R. J. & Fernstrom, J. D. (1976) Control of neurotransmitter synthesis by precursor availability and nutritional state. Biochemical Pharmacology, 25, 1691.Google Scholar
Young, S. N., Lal, S., Feldmuller, F., Seurkes, T. L., Ford, R. M., Kiely, M. & Martin, J. B. (1976) Parallel variation of ventricular CSF tryptophan and free serum tryptophan in man. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 39, 6165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, S. N., & Seurkes, T. L. (1977) Tryptophan in the central nervous system: regulation and significance. Advances in Neurochemistry, 2, 133.Google Scholar
Zhang, W. & Yucun, S. (1979) 5-Hydroxytryptamine metabolism in schizophrenics. Chinese Medical Journal (English), 92 (12), 817–84.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.