As part of the National Institute of Mental Health Clinical Research
Branch Collaborative Program on the Psychobiology of Depression, the
authors compared concentrations of CSF monoamine metabolites (the
norepinephrine metabolite 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol [MHPG], the
dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid [HVA], and the serotonin metabolite
5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid [5-HIAA]) from 14 hospitalized manic patients
with concentrations from 62 healthy comparison subjects. The manic patients
had significantly higher levels of MHPG. Levels of 5- HIAA and HVA did not
differ between the manic patients and the comparison male subjects, but
they were elevated in the female manic patients. MHPG was the only
metabolite that correlated significantly with mania symptom ratings. These
data are consistent with findings that have shown abnormal, perhaps
excessive, central noradrenergic activity in patients with mania, but not
with those suggesting deficits in serotoninergic function.Abstract Teaser