Plasma noradrenaline and clinical psychopathology in schizophrenia. A correlation analysis.

Plasma noradrenaline was assayed in schizophrenics selected according to research diagnostic criteria. Clinical symptomatology was simultaneously rated according to the comprehensive psychopathological rating scale. Global psychopathology, positive (delusional, hallucinatory), negative (autistic), paranoid and hallucinatory symptomatology were separately rated. Noradrenaline was significantly higher in schizophrenics than in a normal control group. A correlation analysis was applied to both psychopathology and plasmatic noradrenaline levels. Noradrenaline was significantly correlated (p less than 0.05 to p less than 0.02) with global psychopathology, positive symptoms and paranoid symptomatology. No correlation was demonstrated between plasma noradrenaline and negative and hallucinatory symptomatology. Plasma noradrenaline is proposed to be related to a high level of sympathetic general activity in schizophrenics, specially associated with paranoid symptomatology.