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A pilot study of erythrocyte choline flux and content in affective disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

J. B. Uney*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley Hospital, London
C. Duggan
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley Hospital, London
R. M. Marchbanks
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley Hospital, London
R. Jacoby
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley Hospital, London
*
1 Address for correspondence: Mr James Uney, Department Biochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF

Synopsis

Choline influx and choline content were measured in healthy volunteers (N = 36), patients with unipolar affective disorder (N = 28), and bipolar patients before and during treatment with lithium (N = 14, N = 13 respectively). Erythrocyte choline content was not found to be significantly elevated in any of the groups studied, except in patients taking lithium. Choline influx into the erythrocytes of healthy controls was found to decrease with increasing age, while choline influx into lithiated erythrocytes increased with increasing age in patients. An inverse relationship between erythrocyte choline influx and content was found to exist only in the erythrocytes of elderly healthy volunteers (≥ 60 years old).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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