Alterations in cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of somatostatinlike immunoreactivity in neuropsychiatric disorders.

The concentration of somatostatinlike immunoreactivity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from normal, healthy volunteers (n = 10) and patients with DSM-III diagnoses of major depression (n = 17), schizophrenia (n = 11), or dementia (n = 29) was measured by a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay. Statistically significant decreases in CSF concentrations of somatostatinlike immunoreactivity were seen in all three patient populations when compared with controls. These findings confirm previous reports of decreased concentrations of somatostatinlike immunoreactivity in the CSF of patients with depression and dementia and extend this observation to patients with schizophrenia as well. These findings are concordant with the view that reductions in somatostatinlike immunoreactivity concentrations are associated with diseases in which cognitive function is disturbed.