[Do Lewis and MNSS erythrocyte phenotypes predict response to lithium in manic-depressive psychosis?]

Manic depressive psychosis (P.M.D.) is the most "Biological" psychiatric disease and the one whose treatment is the most satisfactory since Lithium is used. The aim of the study is: to check P. Grof (18) hypotheses which postulated that M. erythrocyte phenotype is a positive predictive factor to Lithium in the P.M.D. therapy, and to complete by a similar study in the Lewis group according to the hypothesis of J. L. Prunet, E. Rincent and J. G. Pascalis (37) in a previous study. It is a retrospective and longitudinal study on thirty one Lithium treatment M.D.P. patients. Lithium response is evaluated with objective and quantitative parameters which give us the ability to evaluate chimoprophylaxy and the treatment of M.D.P. accesses. In the MNSs system the statistical analysis of these results show us that none of these phenotypes can be considered as a predictive factor of the Lithium response. In the Lewis system there is no efficacy predictive factor of the chemoprophylaxis. On the other hand Le (a- b+) phenotype would have a wase response to the accesses curative treatment by Lithium. Nevertheless, we have to temper this last hypothesis because the repartition of Lewis phenotype is our group of patient, was significantly different that these of the general population.