Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites and cyclic nucleotides in chronic schizophrenic patients with tardive dyskinesia or drug-induced tremor

Abstract

Lumbar CSF HVA, MHPG, 5HIAA, cAMP, and cGMP were measured in 12 chronic schizoprenics with tardive dyskinesia before and 3 weeks after sodium valproate (VPA) or cyproheptadine treatment. HVA levels significantly decreased and cAMP and cGMP levels significantly increased during the administration of VPA or cyproheptadine. There were no significant correlations between the degree of improvement in tardive dyskinesia and the changes of amine metabolites or cyclic nucleotides. None of the pretreatment values for CFS amine metabolities or cyclic nucleotides were different from those of 15 chronic schizophrenic without tardive dyskinesia as controls. Decrease of HVA and increase of cGMP during the treatment might indicate the normalization of dopaminergic-cholinergic inbalance in the brain. Furthermore, significantly low levels of 5HIAA were observed in the patients with drug-induced tremor. It is suggested that neuroleptic-induced tremor may be attributed to serotonergic dysfunction in the brain.