• Jesus Ramirez-Bermudez, Angel Ruiz-Chow, Ivan Perez-Neri, Jose Luis Soto-Hernandez, Ricardo Flores-Hernandez, Francisco Nente, Sergio Montes, and Camilo Rios.
• Department of Neuropsychiatry, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Mexico, Insurgentes Sur 3877, Tlalpan 14269, Mexico City, Mexico.
• Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2008 Jul 1;30(4):337-43.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine if cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of homovanillic acid (HVA) are related to the clinical features of delirium in a group of patients with acute onset neurological illness.MethodsFifty-one patients with probable acute brain infection were classified as delirious and nondelirious according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and Delirium Rating Scale (DRS). CSF HVA concentration was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography.ResultsDelirium was present in 60.8% of the total sample. HVA levels were not significantly different between delirious and nondelirious patients. Remarkably, patients with psychotic symptoms shown higher levels of CSF HVA as compared to nonpsychotic patient values. In addition, HVA levels were positively correlated to specific items of DRS such as delusions (r=0.463, P=.001), hallucinations (r=0.438, P=.001), cognitive dysfunction (r=0.286, P=.042) and fluctuation of symptoms (r=0.280, P=.046) in the total sample. Subanalyses excluding patients taking antipsychotic drugs revealed that HVA CSF levels were higher in those patients with delusions, and furthermore, the dopamine metabolite remained positively correlated to delusion subscale of DRS.ConclusionsOur results suggest that psychotic symptoms in delirious patients may be related to increased dopamine neurotransmission, as reflected by increased CSF HVA concentration, providing direct evidence to support the dopaminergic theory of psychosis.

38 keywords...

hide…