Posted by Racer on April 15, 2007, at 1:16:51
In reply to Re: Urine Test to Measure Neurotransmitter Levels, posted by notfred on April 14, 2007, at 18:19:37
The whole theory that neurotransmitter levels are out of whack in mental illness comes from the fact that the medications which are effective for many of these disorders affect neurotransmitter levels. So, since a medication which makes serotonin more available in the CNS is effective against depression, depression must be caused by a deficit of serotonin...
Little by little, researchers are working out a bit more about what actually goes on, but right now the whole neurotransmitter theory really is based primarily on the effects of medications which relieve certain symptoms.
And, of course, as NotFred pointed out, we can't really measure neurotransmitters in the CNS without some very sophisticated sorts of tests. It's not particularly helpful for most of us who suffer from depression/anxiety/etc, since knowing the amount of activity at any given receptor type doesn't translate into any useful information regarding the best medications to treat the disorders.
poster:Racer
thread:749661
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070413/msgs/749952.html