Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:491-493
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Serum creatine phosphokinase levels in patients meeting the St. Louis research diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia
DS Schubert, K Brocco, FT Miller and M Patterson
In this study 18 patients with a research diagnostic criteria diagnosis of
schizophrenia had a mean initial serum creatine phosphokinase level
significantly higher than that of 36 control subjects with other RDC
diagnoses. There were no corresponding elevations in the serum levels of
nondrinking alcoholics or patients with primary or secondary affective
disorders. The authors suggest that increased creatine phosphokinase levels
in schizophrenic patients may be due to a sudden increase in the substance
in the dopaminergic or limbic system due to increased muscle membrane
permeability or to sympathetic nervous system or adrenergic dominance.
