Byerley W F, Risch S C
J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1985 Aug;5(4):191-206.
The authors review evidence suggesting that some depressed patients have disturbances in serotonin metabolism. Research supporting the serotonin hypothesis includes: cerebrospinal fluid studies; postmortem examination of neurotransmitters, their metabolites, and their receptors; platelet studies; neuropharmacologic data; neuroendocrine perturbations; and reports that serotonin precursor compounds (tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptophan) may benefit some depressed patients. The authors conclude that better designed studies are needed to test whether serotonin precursor compounds have antidepressant properties.
作者回顾了一些证据，这些证据表明某些抑郁症患者存在血清素代谢紊乱。支持血清素假说的研究包括：脑脊液研究；神经递质、其代谢产物及其受体的尸检；血小板研究；神经药理学数据；神经内分泌紊乱；以及血清素前体化合物（色氨酸和5-羟色氨酸）可能对某些抑郁症患者有益的报告。作者得出结论，需要设计更完善的研究来测试血清素前体化合物是否具有抗抑郁特性。
