Protein content and monoamine oxidase activity in platelets.

Platelets of healthy subjects and patients suffering from various disorders were assayed for their monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity and protein content. The latter tended to be lower with increasing platelet count. A linear correlation with negative slope between count and protein content was found to exist in platelets obtained from schizophrenic, parkinsonian, and (specific development) dyslexia patients. MAO activities appeared to vary significantly with respect to age and sex. In schizophrenic patients, a significant depression of MAO activity occurred which was more marked in chronic than in acute cases. Even larger activity reductions were seen in platelets of insulin-dependent diabetics while the MAO was enhanced in male dyslexic boys. When MAO activity was assessed with different substrates and methods, the results correlated well with each other. Small, but consistent discrepancies, however, arose in the schizophrenia data when compared with the control values.