Panic disorder patients have reduced cyclic AMP in platelets.
Little is known about the intracellular mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of panic disorder (PD). Abnormalities in the cyclic AMP system have been described in several psychiatric disorders but there are no studies in panic patients. We evaluated not only the levels of platelet cyclic AMP, but also cyclic GMP and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in patients with PD at baseline and after treatment with clomipramine and in healthy volunteers. Platelet cyclic AMP was determined by enzymeimmunoassay, cyclic GMP by radioimmunoassay and NOS activity by the conversion of (3)H-arginine to (3)H-citruline in 17 PD patients before treatment with clomipramine, after remission of panic attacks and in 22 healthy volunteers. Average baseline cyclic AMP of PD patients was lower than after remission of panic attacks (P<0.005) and lower than in healthy volunteers (P<0.005). Average cyclic AMP after remission of panic attacks was not significantly different than in healthy volunteers. There were no significant differences in cyclic GMP and NOS analysis. Our results suggest that PD patients without treatment have lower platelets cyclic AMP levels than healthy volunteers and that this decrease may be corrected by clomipramine.
Marcourakis
Tania
T
Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. tmarcour@usp.br
Gorenstein
Clarice
C
Brandão de Almeida Prado
Euthymia
E
Ramos
Renato Teodoro
RT
Glezer
Isaias
I
Bernardes
Cristiane Sena
CS
Kawamoto
Elisa Mitiko
EM
Scavone
Cristoforo
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002997:Clomipramine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D002997:Clomipramine