Hanin I, Kopp U, Spiker D G, Neil J F, Shaw D H, Kupfer D J
Psychiatry Res. 1980 Dec;3(3):345-55. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(80)90065-7.
Red blood cell (RBC) and plasma choline (Ch) were measured in 78 depressed, drug-free patients and in 23 normal, drug-free control subjects. RBC Ch levels displayed a huge variability among the patients, in contrast to those measured in normal controls. Plasma Ch levels, on the other hand, were more consistent within each group, and were correlated with age among the two populations studied. RBC Ch levels would appear to be independent of plasma Ch levels, and to be highly individualized and reproducible within each subject. A segment of the depressed population exhibited significantly higher RBC Ch levels than those seen in the normal control population. A clinical correlation of RBC and plasma Ch levels within the depressed population indicated that the patients with RBC Ch levels exceeding 35 nmole/ml might represent a diagnostically distinct subpopulation with specific clinical characteristics. Results presented here, although preliminary, suggest a role for RBC Ch as a biological marker in certain categories of depressive illness.
对78名未服用药物的抑郁症患者和23名未服用药物的正常对照者测定了红细胞（RBC）和血浆胆碱（Ch）水平。与正常对照者相比，患者的红细胞胆碱水平差异极大。另一方面，每组内血浆胆碱水平更具一致性，且在所研究的两个人群中与年龄相关。红细胞胆碱水平似乎独立于血浆胆碱水平，并且在每个个体内具有高度个体化和可重复性。一部分抑郁症患者的红细胞胆碱水平显著高于正常对照人群。抑郁症患者中红细胞和血浆胆碱水平的临床相关性表明，红细胞胆碱水平超过35纳摩尔/毫升的患者可能代表具有特定临床特征的诊断上不同的亚群。此处给出的结果虽然是初步的，但表明红细胞胆碱在某些类型的抑郁症中作为一种生物标志物发挥作用。
