Am J Psychiatry 1979; 136:937-939
Copyright © 1979 by American Psychiatric Association
CSF copper in schizophrenia
SP Tyrer, HT Delves and MP Weller
The authors measured copper levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of 8
schizophrenic subjects and 6 controls. The schizophrenic subjects had
significantly lower CSF copper values than the controls, which is
consistent with the hypothesis that there is reduced central activity of
copper-dependent enzymes in schizophrenia. These enzymes, tyrosine
hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, are involved in the synthesis
and catabolism of dopamine.
