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The Treatment of Depression by Dinitrile Succinate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2018

A. Harris
A. Harris*
Affiliation:
Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital
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Extract

Caspersson, Hyden and Hartelius, in a series of researches at the Caroline Institute, Stockholm, found that (a) nerve cells subjected to heavy stimulation become depleted of nucleoprotein; (b) nitrile compounds administered to the experimental animal hasten regeneration of this nucleoprotein; (c) biopsy specimens of the prefrontal cortex of psychotics removed at leucotomy show a reduction of cellular protein when compared with healthy subjects killed in accidents; (d) nitrile compounds have a beneficial stimulating action in psychotics and sometimes a permanent curative effect. The substance which they used, malononitrile, was toxic, liable to produce severe reactions and only usable with safety if, after the injection, the patient was kept under observation and given sodium thiosulphate at the first sign of trouble. Meyer and Meyer (1949) have adversely criticized their methods and conclusions.

Type
Part I.—Original Articles
Information
Journal of Mental Science , Volume 97 , Issue 406 , January 1951 , pp. 209 - 213
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1951 

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References

Delay, J., Deniker, P., Sizaret, P., and Laine, B. (1949), “Les dinitriles en psychiatrie. Essais de traitement par le dinitrile succinique,” Semaine des Hôpitaux, 25, 3959.Google Scholar
Hyden, H., and Hartelius, H. (1948), “Stimulation of the Nucleoprotein Production in the Nerve Cells by Malononitrile and its Effect on Psychic Function in Mental Disorders,” Acta Neurol. and Psychiat. Suppl., 48.Google Scholar
Hartelius, H. (1950), “Further Experiences of the Use of Malononitrile in the Treatment of Mental Illnesses,” Am. J. Psychiat., 107, 95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mackinnon, I. H., Hoch, P. H., Cammer, L., and Waelsch, H. B. (1949). “The Use of Malononitrile in the Treatment of Mental Illnesses “(Preliminary Report), ibid., 105, 686.Google Scholar
Meyer, A., and Meyer, M. (1949), “Nucleoprotein in the Nerve Cells of Mental Patients: A Critical Remark,” J. Ment. Sci., 95, 180.Google Scholar
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