Preliminary study on the relationship between respondence in depression with clomiprarmine and levels of plasma 5-HT.

Objective To investigate the relationship between respondence in depression with clomiprarmine and levels of plasma 5-HT.Methods The fifteen outpatients met the criteria of depressive disorder of Chinese classification and diagnostic criteria of mental disorder 2(CCMD-2),5 males and 10 females ,aged between 27～62 years,with Hamilton depression rating scale(HAMD 24 items)scores 21～45 and Newcastle scale scores 6～10,were engaged in the study.For a treatment of eight weeks,the patients were orally administrated various doses of clomipramine in the first week of therapy and were respectively given a fixed dose of clomipramine during the last 7 weeks.Clinical response was evaluated with percentage of HAMD decrease being more than 50%.The plasma 5-HT levels before and after treatments of the patients were measured by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detector(HPLC-ED).Results HAMD scores were significantly decreased( t =2.457, P 0.01),38.84±6.53 at beginning of the treatment and 11.93±5.93 at the end of study;The plasma 5-HT levels,186.62±88.88ng/ml before the treatment and 226.79±58.72ng/ml after the treatment,significantly increased( t =2.808, P 0.01) in the patients at the end of 8 weeks treatment.There was a negative correlation between HAMD scores vary and plasma 5-HT levels( r =-.856, P 0.01).Conclusion A positive relationship is found between the responder and 5-HT levels increased of the patients.