[Beta-endorphin concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenics]

beta-endorphin concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 21 schizophrenic and 15 neurological patients was determined by radioimmune assay. On the basis of the obtained data a correlation between the change of beta-endorphin level in CSF of schizophrenics and that of the clinical state of these patients was assumed as a result of a short-term discontinuance of the treatment. It was established that the reduction of beta-endorphin level in CSF of schizophrenics correlates with the intensification of hallucinatory-delusional disorders.