Thrombocyte Monoamine Oxidase Activity and Behavior Deviances in Adolescence

Abstract

The frequencies of patients with low thrombocyte monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity (defined as having an activity lower than 1 SD below the mean of a respective control group) were studied in 100 consecutive cases admitted to a clinic for child and youth psychiatry. 41 boys and 26 girls (group I) had behavior disorders, attention deficit disorders and/or alcohol and hashish abuse according to DSM III R. 16 boys and 17 girls had other diagnoses (group II). None of the 2 male patient groups differed significantly from the controls. A significantly higher percentage of the girls in group I had low activity of platelet MAO than in the control group (p = 0.015), while the girls in group II did not differ from the controls. Acting out, antisocial behavior and abuse is less accepted in women than in men. Therefore, the girls in the present study might be either more psychiatrically disturbed or have more deviant personalities than the boys, which might explain why our hypothesis about a lower thrombocyte MAO activity in the adolescents with externalizing symptoms (group I) was verified only in the girls.

ADHD and Disruptive behavior scores – associations with MAO-A and 5-HTT genes and with platelet MAO-B activity in adolescents

“…It is therefore possible that the girls expressing symptoms in the present study had more severe symptoms or more deviant personalities than boys expressing the same behavior. This explanation is in agreement with the discussion by Cederblad et al [ 34 ]. Another reason for the relatively lower platelet MAO-B activity in girls with DBD symptoms could be sex-differences in the K-SADS-assessment of behavior based on the reports about aggressive behavior from the parents and teenagers.…”

Association of Traffic Behavior with Personality and Platelet Monoamine Oxidase Activity in Schoolchildren

“…Alternatively, it should be considered that antisocial behavior is much rarer in women than in men, and it is also much less socially and culturally accepted. In one study on behaviorally disturbed adolescents, girls who had been admitted for treatment had lower platelet MAO activity whereas the boys had not [39]. Thus, it is possible that, to take risks and reject social norms, females should have a more deviant central serotonergic system that is reflected in lower platelet MAO activities.…”