Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:1467-1470
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
Plasma norepinephrine in chronic schizophrenia
A Breier, OM Wolkowitz, A Roy, WZ Potter and D Pickar
Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21228.
Several lines of evidence indicate altered noradrenergic function in
schizophrenia. The authors examined resting, standing, and change (standing
minus resting) in plasma norepinephrine levels in 14 drug- free patients
with chronic schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and in 33 age- and
sex-matched healthy volunteers. Schizophrenic patients had significantly
higher resting and standing plasma norepinephrine levels and significantly
greater change. Resting and standing levels were significantly related to
positive and negative symptoms. There was a significant positive
correlation between resting plasma and CSF norepinephrine levels and a
significant negative correlation between CSF homovanillic acid and resting,
standing, and change in plasma norepinephrine levels.
