Amine precursors and depression.
The amino acid precursors, levodopa and L-tryptophan, were given to a group of hospitalized depressed patients in a double-blind placebo controlled study. Relatively large doses were not associated with sufficient clinical improvement to allow the patients to leave the hospital. Previous studies using the precursor-load strategy have produced conflicting findings on the use of these compounds for depressed patients.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010919:Placebos; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012008:Recurrence; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D010919:Placebos; D007980:Levodopa; D014364:Tryptophan