Am J Psychiatry 1996; 153:114-116
Copyright © 1996 by American Psychiatric Association
Elevated plasma levels of neuropeptide Y in patients with panic disorder
JP Boulenger, I Jerabek, FB Jolicoeur, YJ Lavallee, R Leduc and A Cadieux
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Que., Canada.
OBJECTIVE: Neuropeptide Y is a pancreatic polypeptide closely associated
with noradrenergic activity both in the central and peripheral nervous
systems. The objective of this study was to assess plasma neuropeptide
Y-like immunoreactivity in panic disorder. METHOD: Radioimmunoassays were
performed in 12 patients with DSM-III-R panic disorder and two groups of
normal comparison subjects (N = 22 and N = 16). RESULTS: Markedly higher
plasma neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity was found in patients with
panic disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Higher plasma neuropeptide Y-like
immunoreactivity suggests that this peptide may be implicated in the
etiology or expression of symptoms of panic disorder.
