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The tryptophan depletion test. Basic principles and clinical relevance.

The application of a tryptophan-free amino acid mixture (tryptophan depletion test) induces a rapid and substantial lowering of both total and free plasma tryptophan. Consequently, the brain serotonin content and also cerebral serotonin function are decreased.

This method provides a paradigm to study the role of serotonin in the pathobiology of depressive disorders and their treatment modalities. Untreated depressed patients show few behavioral effects during tryptophan depletion.

In depressed patients during an antidepressant or light-therapy-induced stable remission, a transient depressive relapse was induced by tryptophan depletion. Healthy subjects with a genetic risk for affective disorder show worsening of their condition induced by tryptophan depletion.

These findings indicate the relevance of altered brain serotonin function in the pathophysiology of affective disorders and strengthen the importance of serotonin in the mechanism of action of antidepressants.

Since recently published studies revealed some evidence that the serotonergic system is directly involved in the pathophysiology of various psychiatric syndromes besides depression, it seems to be reasonable to evaluate the validity of the tryptophan depletion test also in non-depressed patients.

About the Authors

Neumeister A, Praschak-Rieder N, Hesselmann B, Tauscher J, Kasper S. (1997) The tryptophan depletion test. Basic principles and clinical relevance. Nervenarzt. 1997 Jul;68(7):556-62. Klinische Abteilung fur Allgemeine Psychiatrie, Universitat Wien.

Comments

Dr_Abram_Hoffer

  • Posted on 05/16/2010 05:42 pm
This new work with NAD Therapy is very exciting and I think is right on target. It is indeed an energy-metabolic-deficiency (EMD) because in the absence of this coenzyme cycle almost all the reactions in the body run down... I congratulate Theo Verwey and his colleagues for this remarkable advance in using this concept and in using a simple test, the ratio of pyruvate to lactate as a diagnostic measure, to indicate the dose, duration of treatment etc.

NAD_Blood_Tests

  • Posted on 05/09/2010 08:12 am
It is known that dietary tryptophan can be converted to nicotinamide nucleotides in the body. Both the level of tryptophan and the energy content of the diet have been shown to influence the efficiency of conversion. The rate at which tryptophan is converted to nicotinamide nucleotides in the body may be expected to be influenced by the activities of the enzymes concerned with the tryptophan-NAD pathway.

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