Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T19:08:59.144Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Effect of Electroconvulsive Therapy on CSF Amine Metabolites in Schizophrenic Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

S. J. Cooper ,
W. Leahey ,
D. F. Green  and
D. J. King
S. J. Cooper*
Affiliation:
Holywell Hospital, Belfast
W. Leahey
Affiliation:
Holywell Hospital, Belfast
D. F. Green
Affiliation:
Holywell Hospital, Belfast
D. J. King
Affiliation:
Department of Therapeutics and Pharmacology, The Queen's University of Belfast
*
Department of Mental Health, The Queen's Usniversity of Belfast, Whitla Medical Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The effects of a series of six ECT treatments were observed on the CSF concentrations of HVA, MHPG, and 5-HIAA in 12 patients suffering from schizophrenia. Four patients were previously neuroleptic drug-free, and eight had received only oral neuroleptic drugs at the same dose for more than 4 weeks. A significant increase in the concentration of HVA was observed after the first ECT treatment but not after the final treatment. No significant changes were observed in the concentrations of MHPG and 5-HIAA. The patients improved clinically, and the results suggest that ECT has important effects on dopaminergic systems.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 152 , Issue 1 , January 1988 , pp. 59 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrams, R., Essman, W. B., Taylor, M. A. & Fink, M. (1976) Concentration of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, homovanillic acid and tryptophan in the cerebrospinal fluid of depressed patients before and after ECT. Biological Psychiatry, 11, 85–90.Google ScholarPubMed
Andreasen, N. (1982) Negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 784–788.Google ScholarPubMed
Brandon, S., Cowley, P., McDonald, C., Neville, P., Palmer, R., & Wellstood-eason, S. (1984) Electroconvulsive therapy: results in depressive illness from the Leicestershire trial. British Medical Journal, 288, 22–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brandon, S., Cowley, P., McDonald, C., Neville, P., Palmer, R., & Wellstood-eason, S. (1985) Leicester ECT trial: results in schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 177–183.Google ScholarPubMed
Childers, R. T. (1964) Comparison of four regimens in newly admitted female schizophrenics. American Journal of Psychiatry, 120, 1010–1011.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clinical Research Centre, Division of Psychiatry (1984) The Northwick Park ECT trial. Predictors of response to real and simulated ECT. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 227–237.Google Scholar
Cookson, J. C., Silverstone, T. & Rees, L. (1982) Plasma prolactin and growth hormone levels in manic patients treated with pimozide. British Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 274–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, S. J. (1984) Studies in monoamine metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients suffering from major psychoses. MD Thesis, The Queen's University of Belfast.Google Scholar
Cooper, S. J. & King, D. J. (1982) ECT and dopaminergic transmission. The Lancet, ii, 710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, S. J. & King, D. J. (1984) ECT, dopamine and delusions. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 555.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eagles, J. M. (1984) Prediction of response to ECT. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 670.Google Scholar
Feighner, J. B., Robins, E., Guze, S. B., Woodruff, R. A., Winokur, G. & Munoz, R. (1972) Diagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Archives of General Psychiatry, 26, 57–63.Google ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, F. K. & Post, R. M. (1975) Cerebrospinal fluid amine metabolites in affective illness and schizophrenia: clinical and pharmacological studies. Psychopharmacology Communications, 1, 641–653.Google ScholarPubMed
Harnryd, C., Bjerkenstedt, L., Grimm, V. E. & Sedvall, G., (1979) Reduction of MOPEG levels in cerebrospinal fluid of psychotic women after electroconvulsive treatment. Psychopharmacology, 64, 131–134.Google ScholarPubMed
Iversen, L. L., Rogawski, M. A. & Miller, R. J. (1976) Comparison of the effects of neuroleptic drugs on pre- and post-synaptic dopaminergic mechanisms in the rat striatum. Molecular Pharmacology, 12, 251–262.Google Scholar
Janakiramaiah, N., Channabasavanna, S. M. & Murthy, N. S. N. (1982) ECT/chlorpromazine combination versus chlorpromazine alone in acutely schizophrenic patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavia, 66, 464–470.Google ScholarPubMed
Johnstone, E. C., Crow, T. J., Frith, C. D., Carney, M. W. P. & Price, J. S. (1978) Mechanism of the antipsychotic effect in the treatment of acute schizophrenia. The Lancet, i, 848–851.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaskey, G. B., Nasr, S. & Meltzer, H. Y. (1980) Drug treatment in delusional depression. Psychiatry Research, 2, 267–277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kehr, W., Carlsson, A., Lindqvist, M., Magnusson, T. & Atack, C. (1972) Evidence for a receptor-mediated feedback control of striatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 24, 744–747.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, D. J., Cooper, S. J. & Liddle, J. (1983) The effect of propranolol on CSF amine metabolites in psychiatric patients. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 15, 331–337.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krawiecka, M., Goldberg, D. & Vaughn, M. (1977) A standardised psychiatric assessment scale for rating chronic psychotic patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavica, 55, 299–308.Google ScholarPubMed
McCabe, M. S. (1976) ECT in the treatment of mania: a controlled study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 688–691.Google Scholar
May, P. R. A. (1968) Treatment of Schizophrenia. New York: Science House.Google Scholar
Miller, D. H., Clancy, J. & Cumming, E. (1953) A comparison between unidirectional current non-convulsive electrical stimulation given with Reiter's machine, standard alternating current electroshock (Cerletti method), and pentothal in chronic schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 109, 617–621.Google Scholar
Nelson, J. C. & Bowers, M. B. (1978) Delusional unipolar depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 1321–1328.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nordin, G., Ottosson, J-O. & Roos, B.-E. (1971) Influence of convulsive therapy on 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid in cerebrospinal fluid in endogenous depression. Psychopharmacologia, 20, 315–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ottosson, J.-O. (1974) Systemic biochemical effects of ECT. In Psychobiology of Convulsive Therapy (eds M. Fink, S. Kety, J. McGaugh & T. A. Williams), pp. 209 219. Washington: Winston & Sons.Google Scholar
Post, R. M. & Goodwin, F.K. (1975) Time dependent effects of phenothiazines on dopamine turnover in psychiatric patients. Science, 190, 488–489.Google ScholarPubMed
Post, R. M., Goodwin, F.K., Jimerson, D. C., Bunney, W. E. & Goodwin, F. K. (1980) Dopamine and mania: behavioural and biochemical effects of the dopamine receptor blocker pimozide. Psychopharmacology, 67, 297–305.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Praag, H. H. (1977) Depression and Schizophrenia: A Contribution on Their Chemical Pathologies, pp. 119 121. New York: Spectrum.Google Scholar
Smith, K., Surphlis, W. R. P., Gynther, M. D. & Shimkunas, A. M. (1967) ECT-chlorpromazine and chlorpromazine compared in the treatment of schizophrenia. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 144, 284–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, P. & Fleminger, J. J. (1980) ECT for schizophrenia. The Lancet, i, 1380–1383.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K. (1961) A simple and reliable subclassification of chronic schizophrenia. Journal of Mental Science, 107, 862–875.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wode-helgodt, B., Fryo, B. Gullberg, B. & Sedvall, G. (1977) Effect of chlorpromazine treatment on monoamine metabolite levels in cerebrospinal fluid of psychotic patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavica, 56, 129–142.Google ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.