Response to amitriptyline and urinary MHPG in bipolar depressive patients.

This investigation was done in order to test the hypothesis that urinary MHPG levels provide a predictor of response to therapy in depressed patients. 15 elderly biopolar depressives were included in this study. Their depressive state was estimated by the Hamilton Depressive Scale and their urinary MHPG levels were simultaneously measured before and after 5 weeks of amitriptyline therapy. When comparing amitriptyline responders to nonresponders by parametric techniques, the responders excreted significantly higher mean MHPG levels before the treatment than the nonresponders. During treatment MHPG levels rose significantly in both groups.