Urinary dimethyltryptamine and psychiatric symptomatology and classification
R. Rodnight, Robin Murray, M. C. H. Oon, I. F. Brockington, P. Nicholls, J. L. T. Birley
Psychological Medicine February 1, 1977 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291700018304 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 142 |
| Population | Recently admitted psychiatric patients and normal subjects |
| Topics | 5-MeO-DMT DMT |
| Citations | 33 |
| Key findings | Urinary DMT was detected in 47% of schizophrenic patients and 5% of normal subjects, but schizophrenic symptoms were not major determinants of DMT excretion. |
Abstract
SynopsisThe excretion of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) was studied amongst 122 recently admitted psychiatric patients and 20 normal subjects. DMT was detected in the urine of 47% of those diagnosed by their psychiatrists as schizophrenic, 38% of those with other non-affective psychoses, 13% of those with affective psychoses, 19% of those with neurotic and personality disorders and 5% of normal subjects. Ninety-nine patients were interviewed in a semi-standardized fashion, and also categorized according to a variety of operational definitions of the psychoses. The operational definitions failed to reveal any group significantly more correlated with urinary DMT than a hospital diagnosis of schizophrenia, but a discriminant function analysis of symptomatology could be used to define a group of 21 patients of whom 15 (71%) excreted detectable DMT. There was a general relationship between psychotic symptoms and urinary DMT, but specifically schizophrenic symptoms did not appear to be major determinants of DMT excretion.