Urinary catecholamine metabolite and tribulin output during lactate infusion.

Urinary output of homovanillic acid and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid was decreased both in patients with panic attacks and in normal controls during lactate infusion, whereas that of tribulin (an endogenous monoamine oxidase inhibitor and benzodiazepine receptor binding inhibitor) was increased. There was no change in urinary excretion of any of these compounds during saline infusion. These findings provide further evidence of a link between tribulin output and stress and anxiety in man and point to its possible in vivo action as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor.