Reduced platelet monoamine oxidase activity in a subgroup of schizophrenic patients.

Platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was significantly lower than control values in a subgroup of 16 schizophrenic patients (most of whom were paranoid) characterized by the presence of auditory hallucinations and delusions. Platelet MAO activity was not reduced in 16 other schizophrenic patients without auditory hallucinations. This finding suggests that reduced platelet MAO activity is not found in all schizophrenic patients but tends to occur in a clinically identifiable subgroup.