Abstract
THE hypothesis of disturbed metabolism of indoleamine in endogenous depression is supported by the facts that 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5HIAA), a main metabolite of serotonin, is decreased in the cerebrospinal fluid1,2, that serotonin concentrations in the hind brain obtained from depressed patients who have committed suicide are diminished3, and that 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP)4 and tryptophan5 can have a therapeutic effect. The efficacy of L-5HTP, the biological immediate serotonin precursor, in the symptomatic treatment of endogenous depression has been reported6, although no biochemical analyses of central monoamine changes following L-5HTP treatment have been made. We now give a description of L-5HTP-induced regional changes in central monoamine concentrations, and plasma corticosterone levels in relation to these changes.
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OKADA, F., SAITO, Y., FUJIEDA, T. et al. Monoamine Changes in the Brain of Rats injected with L-5-Hydroxytryptophan. Nature 238, 355–356 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/238355a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/238355a0
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