Changes in Urine Volume and Diurnal Rhythm caused by Reserpine Treatment of Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract

During a study of schizophrenic patients under prolonged treatment with reserpine alternating with placebo, night and day portions of urine were sampled for the determination of 4.-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid (VMA). We found that reserpine treatment caused a moderate decrease in the excretion of this metabolite of adrenaline and noradrenaline, as reported in detail elsewhere (Munkvad and Randrup). We also observed certain characteristic changes in urine volume and diurnal rhythm, and these changes will be reported on in the present paper.