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Relationships in Healthy Volunteers Between Concentrations of Monoamine Metabolites in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Family History of Psychiatric Morbidity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Göran Sedvall ,
Bengt Fyrö ,
Bo Gullberg ,
Henrik Nybäck ,
Frits-Axel Wiesel  and
Birgitta Wode-Helgodt
Göran Sedvall*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Experimental Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, S–104 01 Stockholm, Sweden
Bengt Fyrö
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, St Göran's Hospital, S–112 81 Stockholm, Sweden
Bo Gullberg
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Lund, S–220 05 Lund, Sweden
Henrik Nybäck
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Experimental Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, S–104 01 Stockholm, Sweden
Frits-Axel Wiesel
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Experimental Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, S–104 01 Stockholm, Sweden
Birgitta Wode-Helgodt
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, St Göran's Hospital S–112 81 Stockholm, Sweden
*
∗ Correspondence.
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Summary

In 60 physically and mentally healthy human subjects, lumbar cerebrospinal fluid was analysed by mass fragmentography for 5-HIAA, HVA and MOPEG. Individuals with a family history of psychiatric morbidity had significantly greater variation in monoamine metabolite concentrations than subjects without such a family history. In subjects with a family history of schizophrenic psychosis 5-HIAA and HVA concentrations were significantly higher than in subjects with depressive disorders within the family. For subjects with deviant 5-HIAA levels the probability of having a psychiatric family history was 2.7 times higher than in subjects with normal values. For HVA and MOPEG similar relationships, but of a lower significance level, were found. The results suggest that the cerebral monoaminergic transmitter amines play critical roles in the pathophysiology of psychotic and depressive disorders with a family disposition. They also indicate a value of monoamine metabolite determination in CSF for the prediction of family vulnerability for psychiatric morbidity in healthy subjects.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 136 , Issue 4 , April 1980 , pp. 366 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1980 

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