Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:277-279
Copyright © 1995 by American Psychiatric Association
Sodium lactate response and familial risk for panic disorder
AH Reschke, S Mannuzza, TF Chapman, JD Lipsitz, MR Liebowitz, JM Gorman, DF Klein and AJ Fyer
Department of Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
OBJECTIVE: The authors used the family study method to test the hypothesis
that sodium lactate response defines two subtypes of panic disorder.
METHOD: Rates of panic disorder in 142 first-degree relatives of patients
who responded to sodium lactate, 88 first-degree relatives of patients who
did not respond to sodium lactate, and 231 first-degree relatives of never
mentally ill subjects were compared. RESULTS: No difference in familial
transmission of panic disorder was found between the two patient groups.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings do not support the notion that panic disorder
subtypes are associated with lactate sensitivity.
