N-acetylation and serotonergic measures in a group of psychiatric patients

Serotonin is N-acetylated to melatonin. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of N-acetylation of dapsone reflecting serotonergic activity. The ratio of monoacetyldapsone/dapsone (MAD/DDS) in plasma, 5-HIAA in CSF, and imipramine-binding to platelets were investigated in a group of psychiatric patients, diagnosed according to the DSM-III as affective disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders. There was no significant correlation between either of the serotonergic estimates and N-acetylation in the whole patient group or in diagnostic subgroups of patients. Sixty-four percent of the patients were slow N-acetylators (MAD/DDS less than 0.4), which is a ratio in line with several other studies of psychiatric patients. Among patients with affective disorders, all unipolar patients were slow N-acetylators, while five out of six bipolar patients were fast N-acetylators. The N-acetylation of patients with a history of suicide attempt did not differ from those without. The discrepancy in N-acetylation between uni- and bipolar patients might again address the issue of them representing two different biochemical and genetic disorders.