Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T04:37:29.549Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Changes in Erythrocyte Sodium and Potassium on Recovery from a Depressive Illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

G. J. Naylor ,
H. B. McNamee  and
J. P. Moody
G. J. Naylor
Affiliation:
Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, by Dundee, DD2 5NF
H. B. McNamee
Affiliation:
Metabolic Research Unit, Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, by Dundee, DD2 5NF
J. P. Moody
Affiliation:
Metabolic Research Unit, Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, by Dundee, DD2 5NF
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Disturbances of electrolyte metabolism have frequently been reported in depressive illness. Whether these changes are aetiologically important or secondary to the illness is uncertain. However, the maintenance of sodium and potassium gradients across cell membranes is of vital physiological importance. The distribution of electrolytes across cell membranes is probably responsible for the generation and propagation of impulses in excitable tissue. There is evidence that electrolyte changes are closely associated with alteration in cerebral activity. Margerison et al. (7) reported a significant coefficient of concordance between mean daily urinary sodium potassium ratios, the electroencephalogram mean abundances (8–9 c.p.s.) and word output.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 118 , Issue 543 , February 1971 , pp. 219 - 223
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1971 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Brooksbank, B. W. L., and Coppen, A. (1967). ‘Plasma 11-hydroxy-corticosteroids in affective disorders.’ Brit, J. Psychiat., 113, 395–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Carney, M. W. P., Roth, M., and Garside, R. F. (1965). ‘The diagnosis of depressive syndromes and the prediction of E.C.T. response.’ Brit. J. Psyckiat., 111, 659–74.Google Scholar
3. Coppen, A., and Shaw, D. M. (1963). ‘Mineral metabolism in melancholia.’ Brit. med. J., ii, 1439–44.Google Scholar
4. Gibbons, J. L. (1960). ‘Total body sodium and potassium in depressive illness.’ Clin. Sci., 19, 133–8.Google Scholar
5. Gibbons, J. L. (1964). ‘Cortisol secretion rate in depressive illness.’ Arch. gen. Psychiat., 10, 572–5.Google Scholar
6. Kendell, R. E. (1968). The Classification of Depressive Illness. Maudsley Monograph No. 18. London: O.U.P.Google Scholar
7. Margerison, J. H., Anderson, W.McC., Dawson, J., and Lettich, E. (1962). ‘The relationship between sodium metabolism, verbal output and the E.E.G. in 21 depressives.’ Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol., 14, 853–7.Google Scholar
8. Naylor, G. J., McNamee, H. B., and Moody, J. P. ‘Erythrocyte sodium and potassium in depressive illness.’ To be published.Google Scholar
9. Russell, G. F. M. (1960). ‘Body weight and balance of water, sodium and potassium in depressed patients given electroconvulsive therapy.’ Clin. Sci., 19, 327–36.Google Scholar
10. Shaw, D. M. (1966). ‘Mineral metabolism, mania and melancholia.’ Brit. med. J., ii, 262–7.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.