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Observations on Schizophrenic Patients After Iproniazid and Tryptophan
JOHN W. LAUER, M.D.;
WILMA M. INSKIP, Ph.D.;
JOSEPH BERNSOHN, Ph.D.;
E. ALBERT ZELLER, M.D., Ph.D.
A.M.A. Arch Neurol Psychiatry. 1958;80(1):122-130.
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The employment of drugs acting on the central nervous system has been predicated largely on an empirical basis, the anticholinesterase compounds serving as an exception. As our understanding of the chemical constituents and their function in brain broadens, one can begin to see that basic theoretical information will be the foundation for new therapeutic approaches in this field. The observation that the effect of reserpine may be mediated through its action on liberating serotonin,2 the changes observed with diethylaminoethanol, an analogue of acetylcholine,3 and the utilization of antimetabolites of serotonin,4 all of which modify behavior, are a few examples of this theoretical approach.
It has been found that iproniazid is a potent monoamine oxidase inhibitor in vivo,5 and since serotonin can be degraded by this enzyme, it is apparent that the mechanism of action of such a drug may result in an increase in cerebral serotonin,
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Author Affiliations
Chicago
Footnotes
Submitted for publication Nov. 6, 1957.
Part of this work was presented at the Second International Congress for Psychiatry, Zurich, September, 1957, and in a Letter to the Editor.1
Iproniazid (Marsilid) and part of the L-tryptophan were supplied for this study by Dr. M. J. Schiffrin, Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., Nutley, N. J.
The analytical, enzymic, and nutritional studies were carried out by Lorry A. Blanksma, M. Cameron, John C. Lazanas, Irene Lozaityte, and Robert E. Taylor.
Psychiatry Service and Neuropsychiatric Research Laboratory, Veterans' Administration Hospital, Hines, Ill., and Department of Biochemistry, Northwestern University Medical School.
This investigation was supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health, U. S. Public Health Service (Grant No. E 1413 [05]), Multiple Sclerosis Foundation of America, Chicago, Dr. Lewis J. Pollock, Responsible Investigator, and from the Illinois Mental Health Fund, Department of Public Welfare.
S. Freeman, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry of Northwestern University Medical School and Chairman of the Research Committee of Veterans' Administration Hospital, Hines, Ill.; B. Boshes, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, and Dr. L. Jensen, Chief, Psychiatry Service, Veterans' Administration Hospital, Hines, Ill., gave help in organizing the clinical studies and reviewed the manuscript.
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