BACKGROUND Consistent with many studies demonstrating enhanced reactivity of the sympathetic nervous system in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the administration of yohimbine, a noradrenergic alpha(2)-antagonist, has been shown to increase core symptoms of PTSD and to induce greater increases in plasma 3-methyl-4-hydroxy-phenyl-glycol (MHPG) in subjects with PTSD compared with healthy con...

OBJECTIVES The relationship between tramadol, as an antinociceptive drug, and locus coeruleus (LC), the main noradrenergic nucleus of the brain that affects regulation and modulation of pain through descending noradrenergic pathways was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups of 10 rats. The rats were fixed in stereotaxic instrument and then ...

Glutamate-related genes have been associated with schizophrenia, but the results have been ambiguous and difficult to replicate. Homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) are the major degradation products of the monoamines dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, respectively, and their concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF),...

We investigated the effects of stress on central and peripheral sympatho-adrenal and sympatho-neural functions in healthy, intact young (3-4 mo) and aged (24 mo) male Fischer 344/N rats. Extracellular fluid (ECF) levels of the catecholamines norepinephrine (NE), dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG), methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were obtained by microdialysis...

BACKGROUND The role of plasma monoamines in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with depression is unclear. To investigate monoamines in 20 depressed patients with COPD, the plasma concentrations of serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) were measured and compared with those in 50 non-depressed COPD pa...

This is a comprehensive review of biological abnormalities observed in bipolar/unipolar mood disorders. We do not ignore that conflicting results may be found in the literature, but attempted, nevertheless, to summarize the currents trends. Hypotheses: decreased sensitivity of pituitary glucocorticoid receptors to dexamethasone and/or hyperresponsivity of the adrenal gland to ACTH stimulation a...

We describe the conjoint measurement in urine of the alcoholic catecholamine metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG). The method involves extraction with ethyl acetate and back-extraction into acetic acid (MHPG), followed by adsorption onto alumina (DHPG). The separation is performed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with column switching an...

Ten patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and 13 normal control subjects received intravenous infusions of 2 X 10(-6) g/kg of clonidine and normal saline on separate days. Responses to the drug relating to plasma growth hormone (GH), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), heart rate, blood pressure, and several symptoms were determined. Additionally, platelet alpha 2-adrenoreceptor...

The concentrations of homovanillic acid (HVA), 3-methoxy, 4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), and 5-hydroxyindolylacetic acid (5-HIAA) were measured in samples of ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) taken from 15 patients who were comatose as a result of an acute head injury, a tumour, or a cerebrovascular accident. The metabolite levels were not related to the ventricular fluid pressure. In the ei...

Decreased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), somatostatinlike immunoreactivity (SLI) and alterations in the CSF monamine metabolites 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylglycol (MHPG), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and homovanillic acid (HVA) have been reported in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in patients with major depression. In this study, we found CSF SLI to be significantly l...