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Measurement by Pseudocholinesterase

HERBERT SPRINCE, Ph.D.; IRWIN LICHTENSTEIN, B.A.

AMA Arch Gen Psychiatry 1960;2(4):385-389.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Two types of cholinesterase (ChE) have been found in brain and whole blood. These are (1) true cholinesterase (TChE), also known as acetylcholinesterase, which acts preferentially on acetylcholine (ACh) and is found chiefly in the gray matter (neurons) of the brain and in red blood cells, and (2) pseudocholinesterase (PChE), also known as butyrylcholinesterase, which acts preferentially on butyrylcholine (BuCh) and is found chiefly in the white matter (glial cells) of the brain and in blood serum. TChE is believed to be related to conduction in brain and nerve; in red blood cells it may be concerned with regulation of cell permeability. The functions of PChE in brain, nerve, and blood serum are all still obscure.^1,2

Recently, Desmedt and La Grutta³ demonstrated that pharmacological "arousal" reactions in the brain result from selective inhibition of PChE preferentially to TChE. This recalls to mind the observation⁴ . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Coatesville, Pa.

From the Veterans Administration Hospital, Coatesville, Pa., and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

Chief Research Biochemist, Veterans Administration Hospital, Coatesville, Pa.: Research Associate in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia; Visiting Lecturer in Biochemistry, New York Medical College, Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals, New York (Dr. Sprince). Research Assistant, U.S. Public Health Service Grant No. M-1015 (C3), University of Pennsylvania (Mr. Lichtenstein).

Footnotes
Submitted for publication Sept. 25, 1959.

This work was supported, in part, by Grant M-1015 (C3) from the National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Public Health Service, Bethesda, Md.