The Electrophoretic Pattern of Alkaline Phosphatase in Schizophrenic Females under Long-term Treatment with Neuroleptic Drugs and in Young and Old Healthy Women

Abstract

Total serum alkaline phosphatase and its α₁, α₂, β₁ and β₂ fractions separated by electrophoresis on Cellogel medium were studied in 30 old female schizophrenic patients under long-term treatment with tricyclic neuroleptics. The patients were compared with 25 healthy old women and with 29 healthy young women. The latter had much lower activities of total alkaline phosphatase in serum than the former; this was true for all the electrophoretic fractions. The old schizophrenic women under treatment had significantly higher alkaline phos-phatase activities than the untreated old women. This difference was almost entirely due to an elevation of the α₂ fraction, indicating disturbance in hepato-biliary function.

Key Words:

• Age
• alkaline phosphatase
• electrophoresis
• liver
• neuroleptic drugs