María I. Zamalloa

TL;DR: The values of the ratio pHVA/pGABA are compatible with the idea of an abnormal dopamine-GABA interaction in schizophrenic and bipolar patients and may be a good peripheral marker in psychiatric research.

TL;DR: A sensitive, simple method for measuring homovanillic acid in human plasma based on liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection with confirmed specificity by using serial amperometric detectors is described.

TL;DR: The results suggest that this Val158Met polymorphism, alone or associated with other polymorphisms, could have an important role in the genetic control of monoamine concentration and its metabolites.

TL;DR: Suffering from bipolar disorder could have an impact on personality; a greater value in harm avoidance may be a genetic marker for a vulnerability to the development of a psychiatric disorder, but not bipolar disorder particularly, while a low value in persistence may characterize affective disorders or a subgroup of bipolar patients.

TL;DR: The Val108/158Met polymorphism of the COMT gene alone does not appear to be a crucial determinant in the division of psychotic bipolar patients, but COMT polymorphisms may influence some of the characteristics of the patients by their effect on monoamine metabolism.