Clinical Chemistry, Vol 6, 332-340, Copyright © 1960 by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry

Study of Cholinesterase Activity in Nervous and Mental Disorders

¹ Biochemical Research Laboratory, Kolonien Filadelfia, Dianalund, Denmark.

Serum cholinesterase activity was measured in 193 patients with different mental diseases. It was found that there is an increase in the serum cholinesterase activity in patients suffering from manic depressive psychosis, schizophrenia, psychosis psychogenica, anxiety neurosis, and depressive neurosis. The results confirm some of those found in the literature. The reason for the increase in the serum cholinesterase activity cannot be explained. Drug therapy seems to have no direct influence on the enzyme activity, our experiments having been carried out over a period of about 4 years, with many different drugs used. The values reported in this paper are results of examinations carried out on the patients without any regard to their immediate psychic or mental condition, making it impossible to report on the influence of mental condition on the serum cholinesterase activity. No effect on the serum cholinesterase activity was found following electroshock treatment.