Citation

Roy A, Agren H, Pickar D, Linnoila M, Doran AR, Cutler NR, Paul SM. Am. J. Psychiatry 1986; 143(12): 1539-1545.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1986, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2431628

Abstract

Depressed patients who had attempted suicide (N = 19) had significantly lower CSF homovanillic acid (HVA) levels than patients who had not attempted suicide (N = 8) and control subjects (N = 41). Intergroup levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were not significantly different. The ratio of CSF HVA to CSF 5-HIAA was significantly lower in both patient groups than in control subjects, and patients who had attempted suicide had CSF HVA/5-HIAA ratios that were nearly 50% those of the control subjects. The combinations of nonsuppression on the dexamethasone suppression test and either a low CSF HVA level or a low CSF HVA/5-HIAA ratio were significantly more common among patients who had attempted suicide than among those who had not.

Language: en