Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:711-717
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Platelet [3H]imipramine binding in affective disorders: trait versus state characteristics
M Baron, A Barkai, R Gruen, E Peselow, RR Fieve and F Quitkin
Platelet [3H]imipramine binding (Bmax) was determined in 67 patients with
major affective illness (33 euthymic bipolar, 34 depressed unipolar) and 58
normal control subjects. Bipolar patients had significantly lower Bmax
values than did control subjects. The mean Bmax in the unipolar patients
was lower than in the control subjects, but the difference was not
statistically significant. Dissociation constant (Kd) values did not
distinguish patients in either category from control subjects. The
significantly lower Bmax in euthymic bipolar patients and the apparent
state independence of Bmax in some but not all unipolar patients suggest
that platelet imipramine binding may be a trait marker in a subset of
affective disorders.
