Low arylsulphatase A activity in the development of psychiatric disorders

Previous studies have suggested that arylsulphatase A (ASA) deficiency may be present in psychiatric patients. A number of patients with low ASA activ ity and various neuropsychiatric symptoms have been observed. Metachromatic leucodystrophy (MLD) is a disease caused by deficiency of the enzyme ASA, Clinically, adult MLD may present as a schizophrenia-like psychosis, deteri oration of cognitive functions, personality changes, depression and dementi a. However, there are individuals with low ASA activity without clinical sy mptoms of MLD. This state is described as ASA pseudodeficiency, It remains controversial whether low ASA activity predisposes to or influences the dev elopment of psychiatric symptoms. Relatively little attention has been paid to the role of neurodegenerative processes in the pathophysiology of psych iatric disorders. The hypothesis underlying this work is that there is a su bclass of mentally ill patients whose psychiatric problems are at least par tly caused by an abnormal ASA. The purpose of this particular study was to determine whether an abnormal ASA could be detected in schizoprenic, major depressed and demented patients and control subjects. There were 66 schizop hrenic, 59 major depressed and 61 demented patients. The control group cons isted of 102 healthy volunteers. Leucocyte ASA activity was determined from blood samples, using p-nitrocatechol sulphate as substrate. Our results sh ow that low ASA activity is more frequently found in psychiatric patients t han in control subjects. Our findings indicate that clinical types of major depression and schizophrenia could be connected with low ASA activity. The presence of a decreased ASA activity points to the conclusion that an enzy me deficit entails vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. Copyright (C) 20 01 S. Karger AG. Basel.