Humoral Changes in Manic-Depressive Psychosis with Particular Reference to the Excretion of Catechol Amines in Urine

Psychotic patients with periodically changing symptoms offer particular opportunities for psychosomatic and metabolic studies. Following the classical work of Gjessing (1932, 1935, 1939, 1953) other authors (Ashby, 1952; Rowntree and Kay, 1952; Smith, 1954; Gunne and Gemzell, 1956; Crammer, 1957) have studied metabolic changes in periodic catatonia. Cycles of behaviour and metabolism in psychiatric patients and in patients with “periodic disease” have been reviewed by Richter (1957) who also reported on interesting experiments aimed at the induction of periodic cycles of behaviour in rats.