Serotonin Uptake in Blood Platelets of Psychiatric Patients

Platelet serotonin (5-HT) uptake was determined in 72 newly admitted, unmedicated psychiatric patients. Decreased maximum velocity (Vmax) of 5-HT uptake was present in unipolar and bipolar depressed patients as well as schizoaffective depressed patients. The apparent Michaelis constant (km) of 5-HT uptake was normal in these groups, as was Vmax and Km in manic-depressive and chronic schizophrenic patients. Treatment of depressed patients with notriptyline hydrochloride or imipramine hydrochloride increased Km significantly. There was a trend for the increase in Km in the nortriptyline-treated patients to correlate with clinical improvement. Decreased 5-HT uptake in platelets provides additional evidence for the role of 5-HT in the pathophysiologic process of some forms of depression.