[Significance of various enzymes of mediator metabolism for evaluation of depression and therapeutic prognosis].

The purpose of the work was to specify the possibilities of the use of the enzymes of mediator metabolism: monoamine oxidase (MAO) of platelets, amine oxidase (AO) of serum and acetyl cholinesterase (ACE) of red blood cells to estimate the structure of depressions and to predict their therapeutic dynamics. 32 patients in the depressive phase of MDP were examined. There were 28 women and 4 men aged 22 to 50 years. The monopolar type was recorded in 28 patients, the bipolar one in 4 (all women). The total disease duration amounts to 0.5-17 years; depression may last from 2 months to 4 years. Depending on the type of the dominant affect the patients were distributed into 2 groups (10 persons had melancholic and 22 anxious depression). It has been shown that activity of platelet MAO and serum AO was significantly higher in anxious than in melancholic depression. An interrelationship was established between activity of these enzymes before treatment and prognosis of the treatment with tricyclic antidepressants. Activation of the enzymes during therapy was parallelled by positive clinical changes. Activity of platelet MAO turned out most significant in terms of prognosis. The data obtained are analyzed from the standpoint of regarding depression as a stressful condition, with the participation of the neurohormonal axis: the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal cortex.