Season of birth variations in dimensions of functioning evaluated by the diagnostic interview for borderline patients.

In view of recent reports showing that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of monoamine metabolites exhibit season of birth variations, and that they are also associated with section II (impulse action patterns) of the diagnostic interview for borderline patients (DIB), we analyzed two samples of data to investigate the relationship between the season of birth and the DIB. The first sample comprised 202 patients participating in psychobiological research in Stockholm, and the second sample comprised 130 patients who had committed suicide in Västerbotten in northern Sweden. Those with intermediate score for section II (impulse action patterns) were significantly more likely to have been born during the season October to January in the pooled data, and this tendency persisted in separate analyses for the two samples and for the two diagnostic groups mood disorders and schizophrenia, respectively. Those with high score for section IV (psychosis) were significantly more likely to have been born during February to April in the pooled sample and in the nonschizophrenic group. In the group with schizophrenia, those born during February to April had significantly high scores for section III (affects). These results throw further light on the role of season of birth in suicidology and in psychiatric morbidity.

CSF monoamine metabolites in relation to the diagnostic interview for borderline patients (DIB).

The cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of the monoamine metabolites 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol, and their ratios were studied in relation to the Diagnostic Interview for Borderline patients (DIB) evaluated retrospectively from hospital records for a sample of 202 patients participating in psychobiological programs on mood disorders. No correlations with the total DIB score were significant. Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) defined by a total DIB score of at least 7 or 6, respectively, did not differ significantly from non-BPD regarding the metabolites. However, for section II (impulse action pattern) of the DIB, those with an intermediate value of the section score had significantly higher levels of 5-HIAA and HVA, suggesting that such higher than normal concentrations may be protective against impulsive or suicidal behavior generated by an underlying psychiatric morbidity due to other risk factors.

Somatostatin in the cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenic patients before and after neuroleptic drug treatment.

A radioimmunoassay procedure was used to determine levels of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity in cerebrospinal fluid obtained from 9 schizophrenic patients, 7 patients with other psychiatric disorders, and 10 nonpsychiatric surgical controls. There were no significant differences in mean somatostatin baseline levels between the schizophrenic, nonschizophrenic, and surgical patients. The concentration remained almost unaltered after 4 weeks of zuclopenthixol treatment in the schizophrenia group and following various neuroleptic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic medications in the nonschizophrenic patients despite a significant decrease of overt psychopathology assessed by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale.

CSF metabolites in borderline personality disorder compared with normal controls.

Cerebrospinal metabolites were measured in 17 patients with borderline personality disorder and 17 normal controls. There were no significant differences between the two groups in levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), or 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG). Within the borderline group, lower levels of CSF 5-HIAA were significantly associated with a history of genuine suicide attempts, but were not associated with violence, self-mutilation, or with the presence of major depression. Thus, CSF 5-HIAA levels are not distinctively low in a diagnostic group characterized by impulsivity and suicidal behavior, but within that group may be associated with genuine suicide attempts.

[Immunochemical determination of neurospecific beta 2-globulin in cerebrospinal fluid in mental disorders]. / Immunokhimicheskoe opredelenie neirospetsificheskogo beta 2-globulina v spinomozgovoi zhidkosti pri psikhicheskikh zabolevaniiakh.

Immunochemical identification of neurospecific beta 2-globulin (N beta G) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of mentally healthy subjects and mental patients showed its immunochemical identity in both group. A comparative immunochemical analysis revealed considerable differences in N beta G levels in the CSF in patients with neuropsychic diseases as compared with the control group. The content of N beta G was found to vary in different psychopathological syndromes. It is suggested that variations in N beta G levels in the CSF may be related to psychomotor activity.

Aggression, suicide, and serotonin: relationships to CSF amine metabolites.

In an earlier, separate study, the authors found that human aggression and suicide (a specific aggression-related behavior) were associated with lower levels of CSF 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), a serotonin metabolite. That study focused on subjects with personality disorders without affective illness. In the present study they examine the life history of aggression and history of suicidal behavior in 12 subjects with borderline personality disorders without major affective disorder. Histories of aggressive behaviors and of suicide attempts were significantly associated with each other, and each was significantly associated with lower 5-HIAA levels. Altered serotonin metabolism may be a highly significant contributing factor to these behaviors in whatever diagnostic group they occur.