An examination of baseline and drug-induced levels of cyclic nucleotides in the cerebrospinal fluid of control and psychiatric patients

Baseline c-AMP levels, and probenecid-induced accumulations of c-AMP and c-GMP in the lumbar CSF of depressed, manic, and schizophrenic patients failed to show differences when compared to controls screened to exclude affective, schizophrenic, and CNS neurological disorders. Cyclic-GMP baseline levels in all three psychiatric groups did approach a level of significance when compared to controls. The administration of psychotropic drugs to these patients failed to show significant differences in paired comparisons. Levels of c-GMP from lumbar CSF were found to be positively correlated to concentrations of c-AMP. Categorization of data according to sex, and then age did not result in a discernible trend. It seems unlikely on the basis of this investigation that measurement of cyclic nucleotides in lumbar CSF will be of significance in differentiating psychiatric disorders.