N -Methylmetanephrine: Excretion by Juvenile Psychotics

Abstract

Three out of 18 psychotic children excreted N-methylmetanephrine, a metabolite of N-methylepinephrine. It is not clear whether this tertiary amine plays a part in causing some forms of psychosis or is merely a secondary result of mental dysfunction. Urinary excretion of bufotenin and of 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine, each of which has been reported elevated in some adult schizophrenics, was not unusual in these children.