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N1-methylnicotinamide excretion and affective disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

C. L. Cazzullo ,
E. Sacchetti  and
E. Smeraldi
C. L. Cazzullo*
Affiliation:
Biological Psychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Milan University Medical School
E. Sacchetti
Affiliation:
Biological Psychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Milan University Medical School
E. Smeraldi
Affiliation:
Biological Psychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Milan University Medical School
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr C. L. Cazzullo, Biological Psychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Milan University Medical School, Via F. Sforza, 35–20122 Milan, Italy.
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Synopsis

N1-Methylnicotinamide urinary output is examined in 38 healthy volunteers, 52 patients with secondary affective disorders (SAD), 55 patients with primary affective disorders (PAD) and 46 healthy first-degree relatives of PAD patients. The results indicate (1) that in PAD patients and their first-degree relatives the frequency of low Nl-MN excretion was significantly higher (p < 0001) than in healthy controls and in patients with secondary affective disorders, and (2) that PAD patients have a consistently low N1-MN output, at all times constant and independent of the clinical phases of the disease. These findings provide evidence that the low N1-MN levels may represent an index of a biological background linked to a high morbidity risk for primary affective disorders. The theoretical implications deriving from these data are briefly discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , May 1976 , pp. 265 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

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References

REFERENCES

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