Urinary Aromatic Excretion Patterns in Schizophrenia

Introduction  A considerable body of information has appeared in the last three decades dealing with blood and urinary aromatic metabolites in schizophrenia.¹ These studies were provoked, in earlier years, by impressive evidence for an aberrant metabolism of aromatic amino acids in one well-defined mental syndrome (phenylpyruvic oligophrenia). The more recent interest in this subject derives from the discovery of powerful psychotomimetic agents, such as d-lysergic acid diethylamide, which can provoke transient mental symptoms in otherwise normal subjects. The feature common to these agents is the presence of an aromatic chemical structure, either the benzene or the indole nucleus.Attempts to establish the presence of similar or derived compounds in the body fluids of schizophrenics have not been uniformly successful. McGeer et al.² initially confirmed Sano’s³ reports of excessive indole (indican) excretion in mental disease but later reversed their