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A. Åberg-Wistedt, MD; B. Wistedt, MD
Psychiatric Unit Karolinska Institute Danderyd Hospital S182 88 Danderyd, Sweden

L. Bertilsson, PhD
Department of Clinical Pharmacology Karolinska Institute Huddinge Hospital S141 86 Huddinge, Sweden

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1985;42(9):925-926.

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

To the Editor.—

The possible biochemical heterogeneity of affective disorders has been discussed during the last decade.¹ The bimodal distribution of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) supports the hypothesis that a subgroup of endogenous depressives have a disturbance in serotonin neurotransmission.²

Moreover, significantly lower homevanillic acid (HVA) levels in the CSF were found in depressed patients compared with healthy control subjects.³ This finding and results from other studies indicate that dopamine might be involved in the pathogenesis of affective disorders.³ The antidepressant effect of the dopamine agonists bromocriptine^6,7 and piribedil⁸ supports this hypothesis. Silverstone⁷ has shown that patients with bipolar but not unipolar depression responded to bromocriptine. This indicates that bipolar and unipolar depression might differ in central dopaminergic neurotransmission.

Patients and Methods.—

Our study group comprised 50 nontreated patients (age range, 24 to 73 years; 21 men and 29 women) . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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