Plasma ACTH levels in primary depression: Relationship to the 24-hour dexamethasone suppression test

The failure of adequate cortisol suppression after 1 mg dexamethasone in 50% of patients with endogenous depression has been attributed to abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation, resulting in high levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Because studies of plasma ACTH have been...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry research 1983-01, Vol.9 (1), p.45-51
Main Authors: Yerevanian, Boghos I., Woolf, Paul D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ACTH
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone - blood
Adult
cortisol
Depression
Depressive Disorder - blood
Depressive Disorder - diagnosis
Dexamethasone
Female
Humans
Hydrocortisone - blood
Male
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Summary:The failure of adequate cortisol suppression after 1 mg dexamethasone in 50% of patients with endogenous depression has been attributed to abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation, resulting in high levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Because studies of plasma ACTH have been conflicting, we studied plasma ACTH levels during the 24-hour dexamethasone suppression test in a homogeneous group of 29 hospitalized patients with primary endogenous depression and 19 normal volunteers. No differences were found in ACTH levels among normal volunteers, depressed cortisol suppressors, and depressed cortisol nonsuppressors at either 4 p.m. or 11 p.m.
ISSN:0165-1781
1872-7123
DOI:10.1016/0165-1781(83)90088-4