Am J Psychiatry 1981; 138:472-477
Copyright © 1981 by American Psychiatric Association
Relationship between estimated premorbid adjustment and CSF homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels
JF Leckman, MB Bowers Jr and JS Sturges
The authors completed ratings of premorbid sexual and social adjustment and
assays of the CSF homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid
(5-HIAA), and probenecid concentrations in 108 psychiatric patients. Among
the 30 patients diagnosed as schizophrenic, poor premorbid sexual
adjustment was associated with higher accumulations of HVA in the CSF. No
relationship between the estimated premorbid social adjustment and CSF HVA
levels was observed. These findings suggest that 1) sexual and social
premorbid adjustment are partially independent variables, and 2) one of the
biological correlates of sexual adjustment in schizophrenic patients may be
the functional maturity of central dopamine systems.
