3-Methyl-4-OH-phenylglycol
3-Methyl-4-OH-Phenylglycol (MHPG) is a byproduct of the central nervous system’s norepinephrine (NE) metabolism. MHPG metabolizes to vanilmandelic acid (VMA) in the liver using the enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase. Urinary MHPG was originally thought to represent CNS sympathetic output, but is now known to be principally derived from peripheral neuronal NE metabolism.
MHPG has been widely studied as a marker to predict response to medications used in mood disorders or as a biomarker to monitor pharmacotherapies.
References:
- Robertson D, Low PA, Polinsky RJ. Primer on the Autonomic Nervous System. Academic Press; 2011.
- Montoya A, Escobar R, Garcia-Polavieja MJ, et al. Changes of urine dihydroxyphenylglycol to norepinephrine ratio in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treated with atomoxetine. J Child Neurol. 2011;26(1):31-36.
- Hopkins SC, Sunkaraneni S, Skende E, et al. Pharmacokinetics and Exposure-Response Relationships of Dasotraline in the Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults. Clin Drug Invest. 2016;36(2):137-146.
- Garvey M, Hollon SD, DeRubeis RJ, Evans MD, Tuason V. Does 24-h urinary MHPG predict treatment response to antidepressants? I. A review. J Affect Dis. 1990;20(3):173-179.
- Perry G, Fitzsimmons B, Shapiro L, Irwin P. Clinical study of mianserin, imipramine and placebo in depression: blood level and MHPG correlations. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1978;5(S1):35S-41S.
- Eisenhofer G, Kopin IJ, Goldstein DS. Catecholamine metabolism: a contemporary view with implications for physiology and medicine. Pharmacol Rev. 2004;56(3):331-349.
- Mardh G, Luehr CA, Vallee BL. Human class I alcohol dehydrogenases catalyze the oxidation of glycols in the metabolism of norepinephrine. Pro Nat Acad Sci USA. 1985;82(15):4979-4982.
- Freedman RR. Biochemical, metabolic, and vascular mechanisms in menopausal hot flashes. Fertility Sterility. 1998;70(2):332-337.
- Freedman RR. Pathophysiology and treatment of menopausal hot flashes. Paper presented at: Seminars in reproductive medicine2005.
- Gaweesh SS, Abdel-Gawad MMM, Nagaty AM, Ewies AAA. Folic acid supplementation may cure hot flushes in postmenopausal women: a prospective cohort study. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2010;26(9):658-662.
- Müller HU, Riemann D, Berger M, Müller W. The influence of total sleep deprivation on urinary excretion of catecholamine metabolites in major depression. Acta Psych Scand. 1993;88(1):16- 20.
- Baliga L, Rao A, Raja A, Rao SN. A study of urinary excretion of biogenic amine metabolites in epilepsy. Acta Neurol Scand. 1983;68(6):413-416.
- Garvey MJ, Tollefson GD, Orsulak PJ. Elevations of urinary MHPG in depressed patients with panic attacks. Psychiatry Res. 1987;20(3):183-187.
- Frankenhaeuser M, Lundberg U, Rauste von Wright M, von Wright J, Sedvall G. Urinary monoamine metabolites as indices of mental stress in healthy males and females. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1986;24(6):1521-1525.
- Lehnert H. Pheochromocytoma: Pathophysiology and Clinical Management. Vol 31: Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers; 2004.
- Seiden LS, Miller FE, Heffner TG. Neurotransmitters in Attention Deficit Disorder. Attention Deficit Disord Pod: Attention Deficit Disord Pod. 2013:223.
- Schildkraut JJ, Orsulak PJ, Schatzberg AF, et al. Toward a biochemical classification of depressive disorders. I. Differences in urinary excretion of MHPG and other catecholamine metabolites in clinically defined subtypes of depressions. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1978;35(12):1427-1433.
- Gerner RH, Gwirtsman HE. Abnormalities of dexamethasone suppression test and urinary MHPG in anorexia nervosa. Am J Psych. 1981.
What does it mean if your 3-Methyl-4-OH-phenylglycol result is too high?
The role of hepatic alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase explains the clinical observations that ethanol consumption decreases the excretion of VMA, while increasing MHPG.
Because norepinephrine is involved in the pathophysiology of hot flashes in postmenopausal women, MHPG levels have been studied in this patient population.
Interestingly, folic acid was found to interact with receptors causing subjective improvement in symptoms.
Sleep deprivation can act as a stimulus to the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, which can influence central nervous noradrenergic neurotransmitter levels and elevate MHPG.
As a central nervous system metabolite, levels can correlate with central catecholaminergic disturbances, as in anxiety and seizures.
Elevated MHPG levels have also been associated with the stress response.
Pheochromocytomas are rare, mostly benign tumors of the adrenal medulla which can secrete catecholamines causing a wide array of sympathetic symptoms. These tumors contain MAO and COMT. They can therefore produce MHPG. However, because peripheral sympathetic nerves can also contribute to high MHPG, using MHPG for diagnosis of pheochromocytoma limited. VMA is also not very sensitive for diagnosis of pheochromocytoma because it can be made in the liver from MHPG. Although neither organic acid is diagnostic of pheochromocytoma, it is possible to see elevations of these analytes in the disease.
All Your Lab Results.
One Simple Dashboard.
Import, Track, and Share Your Lab Results Easily
Import, Track, and Share Your Lab Results
Import lab results from multiple providers, track changes over time, customize your reference ranges, and get clear explanations for each result. Everything is stored securely, exportable in one organized file, and shareable with your doctor—or anyone you choose.
Cancel or upgrade anytime
What does it mean if your 3-Methyl-4-OH-phenylglycol result is too low?
Since catecholamines are made from dopamine, low levels of the MHPG metabolite can result from low levels of dopamine, dopamine amino acid precursors, nutrient enzymatic cofactor deficiencies in dopamine metabolism, and overall methylation defects. Low levels of MHPG have been correlated to mood and behavioral disorders, anorexia, and ADHD.
Laboratories
Bring All Your Lab Results Together — In One Place
We accept reports from any lab, so you can easily collect and organize all your health information in one secure spot.
Pricing Table
Gather Your Lab History — and Finally Make Sense of It
Finally, Your Lab Results Organized and Clear
Personal plans
$79/ year
Advanced Plan
Access your lab reports, explanations, and tracking tools.
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track all results with visual tools
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export your full lab history anytime
- Share results securely with anyone
- Receive 5 reports entered for you
- Cancel or upgrade anytime
$250/ once
Unlimited Account
Pay once, access everything—no monthly fees, no limits.
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track all results with visual tools
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export your full lab history anytime
- Share results securely with anyone
- Receive 10 reports entered for you
- No subscriptions. No extra fees.
$45/ month
Pro Monthly
Designed for professionals managing their clients' lab reports
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track lab results for multiple clients
- Customize reference ranges per client
- Export lab histories and reports
- Begin with first report entered by us
- Cancel or upgrade anytime
About membership
What's included in a Healthmatters membership
Import Lab Results from Any Source
See Your Health Timeline
Understand What Your Results Mean
Visualize Your Results
Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Securely Share With Anyone You Trust
Let Your Lab Results Tell the Full Story
Once your results are in one place, see the bigger picture — track trends over time, compare data side by side, export your full history, and share securely with anyone you trust.
Bring all your results together to compare, track progress, export your history, and share securely.
What Healthmatters Members Are Saying
Frequently asked questions
Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.
- Individuals who want to track and understand their health over time.
- Health professionals, such as doctors, nutritionists, and wellness coaches, need to manage and interpret lab data for their clients.
With a Healthmatters account, you can:
- Upload lab reports from any lab
- View your data in interactive graphs, tables, and timelines
- Track trends and monitor changes over time
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export and share your full lab history
- Access your results anytime, from any device
Professionals can also analyze client data more efficiently and save time managing lab reports.
Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 10000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:
- The GI Effects® Comprehensive Stool Profile,
- GI-MAP,
- The NutrEval FMV®,
- The ION Profile,
- Amino Acids Profile,
- Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (DUTCH),
- Organic Acids Test,
- Organix Comprehensive Profile,
- Toxic Metals,
- Complete Blood Count (CBC),
- Metabolic panel,
- Thyroid panel,
- Lipid Panel,
- Urinalysis,
- And many, many more.
You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.
If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.
We implement proven measures to keep your data safe.
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.