Monoamines and CSF: relevance to neuropsychiatric disorders

Over the past 25 years much effort has been put into the research of the relationship between neuropsychiatric disorders and the concentrations of CSF-monoamine metabolites. Most of this research has beenfocused on the relation between CSF-concentrations of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) and specific symptomatological entities, particularly schizophrenia, Alzheimer's dementia and endogenous depression. It appeared that specific relations between diseases and CSF-concentrations of monoamine metabolites cannot be longer maintained and that a more functional psychopathology should be considered as the future research strategy.