Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:57:34.355Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Multicompartmental analysis of amino acids: 1. Preliminary data on concentrations, fluxes, and flow constants of tryptophan in affective illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

David M. Shaw
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Neuropsychiatry Unit, West Park Hospital, Epsom
Anthony L. Johnson
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Neuropsychiatry Unit, West Park Hospital, Epsom
Simon F. Tidmarsh
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Neuropsychiatry Unit, West Park Hospital, Epsom
David A. Macsweeney
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Neuropsychiatry Unit, West Park Hospital, Epsom
H. Robyn Hewland
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Neuropsychiatry Unit, West Park Hospital, Epsom
Norman E. Woolcock
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Neuropsychiatry Unit, West Park Hospital, Epsom

Synopsis

The study of tryptophan metabolism using compartmental analysis suggested differences between males and females, and between control subjects and patients with affective illness, patients treated with tricyclic drugs, and those established on lithium therapy. The total mass of tryptophan in the body may be reduced in people prone to affective disorder, and in depressed patients (ill and well) turnover of tryptophan seemed to be reduced. The reduction of concentration of tryptophan in compartment S2 in affective illness could affect protein synthesis.

Type
Preliminary Communication
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Curzon, G., Friedel, J., and Knott, P. J. (1973). The effect of fatty acids on the binding of tryptophan to plasma proteins. Nature, 242, 198200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denckla, W. D., and Dewey, H. K. (1967). The determination of tryptophan in plasma, liver, and urine. Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, 69, 160169.Google ScholarPubMed
Munro, H. N. (1970). Free amino acid pools and their role in regulation. In Mammalian Protein Metabolism, vol. 4, pp. 299386. Edited by Munro, H. N.. Academic Press: New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riley, G. J. (1974). Unpublished observations.Google Scholar
Shaw, D. M. (1973). Biochemical basis of affective disorders. Hospital Medicine, 10, 609616.Google Scholar
Shaw, D. M., Johnson, A. L., and Short, R. (1972). Preliminary study of the effects of lithium, imipramine and reserpine on the relative sizes of tryptophan pools and flow constants in rabbits. Mathematical Biosciences, 15, 137151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheppard, C. W. (1962). Basic Principles of the Tracer Method, pp. 4770. Wiley: New York.Google Scholar
Snedecor, G. W., and Cochran, W. G. (1967). Statistical Methods. 6th edn., pp. 472503. Iowa State University Press: Ames, Iowa.Google Scholar