The platelet as a peripheral marker in psychiatric illness

Abstract

The identification of peripheral markers of psychiatric illness is important if an improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases with overlapping symptomatology is desired. There are many disorders that not only have overlapping symptomatology, but also have similar biological disturbances. The functional capability of the neurons involved in the disease processes may be at the crux of the underlying pathology. The platelet intracellular calcium response to neurotransmitter stimulation has previously been used as a peripheral marker of psychiatric illness. This review discusses evidence in support of the extended use of the platelet as a peripheral marker. The use of the platelet intracellular calcium response to neurotransmitter stimulation as a state or trait marker in major depression, the specificity and selectivity of this response, and the possible use of the platelet as a peripheral marker in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, mania and psychotic depression are shown. Finally, a proposed mechanism for the association between certain psychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease is discussed. Copyright 2001 John Wiley& Sons, Ltd.

Do mood disorders play a role in pig welfare?

“…These results are in line with the well known use of platelets as a model for the serotonergic neurons of patients with mood disorders (Coleman, 1971;Takahashi, 1976;Sthal, 1977;Kim et al, 1982;Dreux and Launay, 1985;Arora and Meltzer, 1989;Thompson, 1999;Camacho and Dimsdale, 2000;Plein and Berk, 2001). …”

Platelet serotonin and serum lipids in psychotic mania

“…A few studies investigated serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) levels (Takahashi, 1976;Saxena et al, 1999), monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity (Takahashi, 1977) and 5-HT2A receptors (Pandey et al, 2003) in manic patients using blood platelets as a peripheral model for the central serotonergic neurons (Plain and Berk, 2001). Manic patients had lower cholesterol levels than healthy controls (Ghaemi et al, 2000;Cassidy and Carroll, 2002;Atmaca et al, 2002), but no data are available either regarding the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and triglycerides (TG) levels in mania, or platelet 5-HT, platelet MAO activity and lipid levels, especially in psychotic subtype of mania.…”

Consciousness and Hallucinations: Molecular Considerations and Theoretical Questions

“…A significant reduction in neuronal membrane viscosity should thus lead to a commensurate reduction of serotonin. This would explain similarities between neurons and platelets in major depression (Takahashi, 1976;Edwards, 1978;Marangos, 1979;Kim, 1982;Rotman, 1983;Dreux, 1985;Wirz-Justice, 1988;Camacho, 2000;Plein, 2001;MaurerSpurej, 2007).…”