Jimerson D C, Nurnberger J I, Post R M, Gershon E S, Kopin I J
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1981 Nov;38(11):1287-90. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1981.01780360103012.
We measured plasma 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) in 13 pairs of healthy drug-free monozygotic twins. High concordance for both free and conjugated MHPG suggests that plasma levels of the metabolite may reflect a heritable biological trait. In two drug-free rapidly cycling patients studied longitudinally, plasma MHPG levels reflected alterations in psychiatric state; they were significantly higher during mania than during depression. Although largely reflecting peripheral sources, plasma MHPG level as a global index of noradrenergic function may complement urinary MHPG excretion as a probe for diagnostic subgroups or pharmacologic responsiveness in psychiatric research.
我们检测了13对健康、未服药的同卵双胞胎的血浆3-甲氧基-4-羟基苯乙二醇（MHPG）。游离型和结合型MHPG的高度一致性表明，该代谢物的血浆水平可能反映一种可遗传的生物学特性。在两项对快速循环型未服药患者进行纵向研究中，血浆MHPG水平反映了精神状态的变化；躁狂期的血浆MHPG水平显著高于抑郁期。尽管血浆MHPG水平在很大程度上反映的是外周来源，但作为去甲肾上腺素能功能的一项整体指标，它可能会补充尿MHPG排泄量，作为精神科研究中诊断亚组或药物反应性的一项检测手段。
