Peripheral whole blood uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG) has been found to be significantly elevated in psychotic depression (Hansen, 1969; 1972a, b), and this was related to an equally significant lowering of whole blood adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Addition to healthy human blood of UDPG accelerated the hydrolysis of ATP in vitro (Hansen, 1972a), and UDPG concentration dependently enhanced the activity of a vegetable ATP di-phosphohydrolase (EC 3.6.1.5), which was also inhibited by adenosine 3’, 5′-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) in a concentration-dependent manner (Hansen, 1972b). Other workers have recently published a similar inhibition of a rat heart ATPase by cyclic AMP (Dietze and Hepp, 1972), and another research group have found that sodium-potassium exchange pump changes and changes in erythrocyte membrane ATPase activity correlate significantly with mood alterations in psychotic depressive patients (Dick, Dick, Le Poidevin and Naylor, 1972; Naylor, Dick, Dick, Le Poidevin and Whyte, 1973). This paper reports a study of the relationship between blood ATP levels and mood in patients suffering from manic-depressive predictable (Jenner, 1971) short term cycle psychotic states, and in depressive patients receiving electroconvulsive treatment.
