RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CSF NEUROPEPTIDES AND TEMPERAMENT TRAITS IN SUICIDE ATTEMPTERS

Depressive disorders have been associated with deviances in the levels of various neuropeptide like immunoreactivities in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and also with specific temperament traits. With the hypot hesis that neuropeptides in CSF might be associated with specific temp erament traits, we studied a sample of 40 hospitalized suicide attempt ers. They all filled in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) in combination with the impulsiveness scale from the Impulsiveness-Ventu resomeness-Empathy (IVE) inventory. Corticotropin releasing hormone (C RH), neuropeptide Y (NPY), beta-endorphin, gamma-melanocyte stimulatin g hormone (gamma(2)-MSH), somatostatin, peptide YY and delta-sleep ind ucing peptide (DSIP) like immuno-reactivities were measured in lumbar CSF. Contrary to our hypotheses, there was no relationship between neu roticism and CRH or NPY. Psychoticism and impulsiveness correlated pos itively and significantly with gamma(2)-MSH, a peptide associated with increased sympathetic drive. The other neuropeptides showed no signif icant associations with temperament. The relationship between gamma(2) -MSH and the psychoticism dimension needs to be replicated and studies of healthy subjects and nonsuicidal patients would be of interest. (C ) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.