Clinical, Biochemical and Physiological Studies in Cases of Recurrent Schizophrenia

Abstract

During the clinical observation of a female patient suffering from recurrent schizophrenic attacks, it was noticed that each psychotic episode was associated with the appearance of acne, and also that during remissions the patient showed an unusual craving for salt. These observations, together with the automatic disturbances characteristic of the onset of attacks, suggested that the adrenal cortex might play a part in the metabolic changes in this type of case, particularly the changes in nitrogen balance which have been demonstrated by Gjessing (1932, 1938). The work here reported was therefore primarily concerned with investigating the possible relationship between adrenal cortex activity and nitrogen metabolism in two patients of this type.