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Serotonin-induced platelet intracellular calcium mobilization in depressed patients

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Abstract

Serotonin(5-HT)-stimulated intracellular calcium(Ca) mobilization was measured in the platelets of depressed patients to assess 5-HT2 receptor function. The 5-HT-induced Ca response was significantly higher in unmedicated patients with bipolar depression and melancholic major depression than in those with non-melancholic major depression and normal controls. The enhanced Ca response to 5-HT failed to correlate with severity of depressive symptoms. In patients with bipolar disorder and melancholic major depression, there was no significant difference in 5-HT-stimulated Ca response between the unmedicated group and those in remission. These results suggest that 5-HT2 receptor function is increased in some types of depression, and raise the possibility that the enhanced Ca response to 5-HT may be trait dependent rather than state dependent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, North 15 West 7, 060, Sapporo, Japan

    Ichiro Kusumi, Tsukasa Koyama & Itaru Yamashita

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  1. Ichiro Kusumi
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  2. Tsukasa Koyama
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  3. Itaru Yamashita
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Kusumi, I., Koyama, T. & Yamashita, I. Serotonin-induced platelet intracellular calcium mobilization in depressed patients. Psychopharmacology 113, 322–327 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245204

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245204

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