Relationships among biochemical, clinical, and pharmacokinetic variables in neuroleptic-treated schizophrenic patients.

Concentrations of the major monoamine metabolites HVA, MOPEG, and 5-HIAA were determined by mass fragmentography in CSF of schizophrenic patients before and after treatment with antipsychotic drugs. In addition to the acceleration of central dopamine metabolism, spectra of changes involving all three major monoamine metabolites were induced by different types of drugs. In chlorpromazine-treated patients changes in central norepinephrine metabolism were better correlated to therapeutic response than the alteration of central dopamine metabolism. Changes with time of the drug concentration-effect relationships in chlorpromazine-treated patients indicate tha long-term inductive effects are produced by chlorpromazine treatment. Studies on the monoamine metabolite pattern in untreated schizophrenic patients indicate the existence of a specific subgroup of patients with a disturbed central serotonin metabolism and a family disposition of the disorder.