Fasting Blood Lipid Concentrations in Manic-Depressive Psychosis

¹ Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, University of Leeds, and Director, Metabolic Research Unit, High Royds Hospital, Menston, Ilkley, Yorkshire
² Research Assistant, Department of Biochemistry, University of Leeds

1. Serum lipids were extracted by a chloroform-methanol mixture and, after separation by chromatography on silicic acid, were determined as sterol esters, triglycerides, sterols and phospholipids.

2. Serial investigations on normal subjects and mental patients demonstrated that the fasting serum lipid pattern was characteristic of the individual and was not greatly affected by considerable changes in the dietary in-take.

3. The fasting serum lipid pattern was determined at weekly intervals for six months in a manic-depressive patient who exhibited three complete mood cycles during this period. A very significant decrease in the lipid concentrations occurred on each occassion during recovery from the depressed phases. Such variations did not occur in a patient receiving the same diet who showed no affective changes.

4. Preliminary studies of the effect of electro-convulsive therapy on the fasting serum lipid pattern of depressed patients indicated that changes in the pattern did occur in the few hours following treatment, being most marked when associated with an improvement in the mental state.