Concentrations of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl glycol (HMPG) in lumbar spinal fluid were measured by mass fragmentography in 16 men convicted for criminal homicide, 22 men who had attempted suicide, and 39 healthy male control subjects. Those men who had killed a sexual partner, and those who had attempted suicide, had lower levels of the serotonin metabolite, 5-HIAA in spinal fluid than the controls. It is suggested that low levels of 5-HIAA in spinal fluid reflect a disorder of serotonin turnover, which makes the individual more prone to acts of violence in states of emotional turmoil.

No abstract

The effects of chlorimipramine on the concentrations of the main metabolites of serotonin (5-HT) norepinephrine (NE), and dopamine, i.e. 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl glycol (HMPG) and homovanillic acid (HVA), respectively, were studied in cerebrospinal fluid from 14 depressed patients, and related to the serotonin- and NE uptake inhibiting activity in vitro of plasma drawn from the patients. Chlorimipramine inhibited the uptake of both transmitter amines in all patients. During treatment, the levels of 5-HIAA and HMPG in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were significantly reduced. HVA levels were reduced in 6 patients and increased in 8 patients; there was no mean change. The decrease in 5-HIAA level in CSF was correlated to the uptake inhibition of 5-HT but there was no corresponding relationship between NE uptake and HMPG levels. The changes in HVA levels were also correlated to the uptake of 5-HT despite the absence of a unidirectional change of this metabolite.