The report by Nishizawa et al. (2) that women have a lower 5-HT synthesis rate than men, suggests that women may have impaired 5-HT function, which could relate to an increased incidence of illness. The lower plasma TRP in depressed women and increased prolactin response to TRP following sleep deprivation in depressed women, in addition to the decreased plasma TRP levels and increased sensitivity to infused TRP in normal females with dieting, is consistent with this idea.
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