Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T08:44:49.844Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Positive relationship between the catecholaminergic turnover and the DST results in depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

M. Maes ,
M. Vandewoude ,
C. Schotte ,
M. Martin  and
P. Blockx
M. Maes*
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, Internal and Nuclear Medicine of the University Hospital of Antwerp, Belgium
M. Vandewoude
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, Internal and Nuclear Medicine of the University Hospital of Antwerp, Belgium
C. Schotte
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, Internal and Nuclear Medicine of the University Hospital of Antwerp, Belgium
M. Martin
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, Internal and Nuclear Medicine of the University Hospital of Antwerp, Belgium
P. Blockx
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, Internal and Nuclear Medicine of the University Hospital of Antwerp, Belgium
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr M. Maes, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat, 10, 2520 Edegem, Belgium.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

In the past some workers have reported positive relationships between indices of noradrenaline activity and measures of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)-axis function. In order to investigate these relations, the authors measured noradrenaline, adrenaline and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) in 24 h urine samples of 72 depressed females. Serum adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol concentrations were determined before and after administration of 1 mg of dexamethasone. Cortisol non-suppressors exhibited a significantly higher noradrenaline, adrenaline and VMA excretion as compared to cortisol suppressors. We determined significantly positive correlations between the postdexamethasone cortisol values and the excretion rates of noradrenaline and VMA. These indices of noradrenaline activity correlated neither with the baseline cortisol and ACTH nor with the postdexamethasone ACTH values.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , August 1990 , pp. 493 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Al-Damluji, S. (1988). Adrenergic mechanisms in the control of corticotropin secretion. Journal of Endocrinology 119, 5–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1980). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edn.American Psychiatric Association: Washington DC.Google Scholar
Bakke, H. K., Murison, R. & Walthers, B. (1986). Effect of central noradrenaline depletion on corticosterone levels and gastric ulceration in rats. Brain Research 368, 256–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blombery, P. A., Kopin, I. J., Gordon, E. K.Markey, S. P. & Ebert, M. H. (1980). Conversion of MHPG to vanillylmandelic acid. Archives of General Psychiatry 37, 1095–1098.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carroll, B. J. (1980). Clinical application of neuroendocrine research in depression. In Handbook of Biological Psychiatry, Part III, Brain Mechanisms and Abnormal Behaviour–Genetics and Neuroendocrinology (ed. van Praag, H. M., Lader, M. H., Rafaelsen, O. J. and Sachar, E. J.), pp. 179–193. Marcel Dekker: New York.Google Scholar
Carroll, B. J. (1982). The dexamethasone suppression test for melancholia. British Journal of Psychiatry 140, 292–304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, K. L., Hollister, L. E., Mathé, A. A., Davis, B. M., Rothpearl, A. B., Faull, K. F., Hsich, J. Y. K., Barchas, J. D. & Berger, P. A. (1981). Neuroendocrine and neurochemical measurements in depression. American Journal of Psychiatry 138, 1555–1562.Google ScholarPubMed
de Villiers, A., Russell, V., Carsters, M., Aalbers, C., Gagiano, C., Charlton, D. & Taljaard, J. (1987). Noradrenergic function and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity in unipolar major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Research 22, 127–140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feinberg, M. & Carroll, B. J. (1984). Biological ‘markers’ for endogenous depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 41, 1080–1085.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Filser, J. G., Muller, W. E. & Beckmann, H. (1986). Should plasma or urinary MHPG be measured in psychiatric research? A critical comment. British Journal of Psychiatry 148, 95–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garvey, M. J., Hollon, S., Evans, M., DeRubeis, R. J. & Tuason, V. B. (1988). The association of MHPG to dexamethasone suppression test status. Psychiatry Research 24, 223–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, A., Hart, S. L. & Patel, S. (1986). Effects of 6-hydroxydopamine-induced lesions of the paraventricular nucleus and of prarosin, on the corticosteron response to restraint in rats. Neuropharmacology 25, 257–262.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 23, 56–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jimerson, D. C., Insel, T. R., Reus, V. I. & Kopin, I. J. (1983). Increased plasma MHPG in dexamethasone-resistant depressed patients. Archives of General Psychiatry 40, 173–176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koslow, S. H., Maas, J. W., Bowden, C. L., Davis, J. M., Hanin, I. & Javaid, J. (1983). CSF and urinary biogenic amines and metabolites in depression and mania: a controlled, univariate analysis. Archives of General Psychiatry 40, 999–1010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linnoila, M., Karoum, F. & Potter, W. Z. (1982). High correlation of norepinephrine and its major metabolite excretion ranges. Archives of General Psychiatry 39, 521–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linnoila, M., Guthrie, S., Lane, E., Karoum, F., Rudorfer, M. & Potter, W. (1986). Clinical studies on norepinephrine metabolism: how to interpret the numbers. Psychiatry Research 17, 229–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loo, H., Poirier, M.-F., Dennis, T., Benkelfat, C., Vannelle, J. M., Gay, C., Galinowski, A., Askienazy, S. & Scatton, B. (1988). Lack of correlation between DST results and urinary MHPG in depressed patients. Journal of Neural Transmission 72, 121–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maas, J. W. & Leckmann, J. F. (1983). Relationships between central nervous system noradrenergic function and plasma and urinary MHPG and other norepinephrine metabolites, in MHPG: Basic Mechanisms and Psychopathology (ed. Maas, J.), pp. 33–34. Academic Press: New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maes, M., De Ruyter, M., Hobin, P. & Suy, E. (1986). The dexamethasone suppression test, the Hamilton depression rating scale and the DSM-III depression categories. Journal of Affective Disorders 10, 207–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maes, M., De Ruyter, M. & Suy, E. (1987 a). Cortisol response to dexamethasone and noradrenergic function in depression. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 75, 171–175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maes, M., De Ruyter, M. & Suy, E. (1987 b). Prediction of subtype and severity of depression by means of dexamethasone suppression test, L-tryptophan/competing amino acid ratio and MHPG excretion. Biological Psychiatry 22, 177–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maas, J. W., Koslow, S. H., Davis, J., Katz, M., Frazer, A., Bowden, C. L., Berman, N., Gibbons, R., Stokes, P. & Landis, H. (1987 c). Catecholamine metabolism and disposition in healthy and depressed subjects. Archives of General Psychiatry 44, 337–344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maes, M., Jacobs, M.-P., Suy, E., Leclercq, C., Christiaens, F. & Raus, J. (1989 a). An augmented escape of β-endorphins to suppression by dexamethasone in severely depressed patients. Journal of Affective Disorders (in the press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maes, M., Vandevelde, R. & Suy, E. (1989 b). Influences on cortisol and noradrenergic turnover of healthy controls and depressed patients during L-tryptophan loading. Journal of Affective Disorders 17, 173–182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maes, M., Vandewoude, M., Maes, L., Schotte, C. & Cosyns, P. (1989 c). A revised interpretation of the TRH test results in female depressed patients. Part I. TSH responses. Effects of severity of illness, thyroid hormones, monoamines, age, sex hormonal, corticosteroid and nutritional state. Journal of Affective Disorders 16, 203–213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maes, M., Schotte, C., Martin, M., Vandewoude, M. & Blockx, P. (1990). A revised interpretation of the postdexamethasone ACTH and cortisol data in unipolar depressed females. Psychiatry Research (in the press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, J. B. & Reichlin, S. (1987). Regulation of ACTH secretion and its disorders. In Clinical Neuroendocrinology, 2nd edn. (ed. Martin, J. B. & Reichlin, S.), pp. 159–200. F. A. Davis: Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Massart, D. L., Vandeginste, B. G. M., Deming, S. N., Michotte, Y. & Kaufman, L. (1988). Data Handling in Science and Technology, Chemometrics: a Textbook. Elsevier: Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Post, R., Jimerson, D., Ballenger, J., Lake, R., Uhde, T. & Goodwin, F. (1984). Cerebrospinal fluid norepinephrine and its metabolites in manic-depressive illness. In Neurobiology of Mood Disorders(ed. Post, R. and Ballenger, J.), pp. 539–553. Williams & Wilkins: Baltimore.Google Scholar
Rivier, C. & Vale, W. (1985). Effects of corticotropin-releasing factor, neurohypophyseal peptides, and catecholamines on pituitary function. Federation Proceedings 44, 189–196.Google ScholarPubMed
Rosenbaum, A. H., Maruta, T., Schatzberg, A. F., Orsulak, P. J., Jiang, N.-S., Cole, J. O. & Schildkraut, J. J. (1983). Toward a biochemical classification of depressive disorders. VII. Urinary free cortisol and urinary MHPG in depression. American Journal of Psychiatry 140, 314–318.Google Scholar
Roy, A., Pickar, D., Linnoila, M. & Potter, W. (1985). Plasma norepinephrine in affective disorders: relationship to melancholia. Archives of General Psychiatry 42, 1181–1185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roy, A., Jimerson, D. & Pickar, D. (1986). Plasma 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol in depressive disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry 143, 846–851.Google ScholarPubMed
Roy, A., Pickar, D., De Jong, J., Karoum, F. & Linnoila, M. (1988). Norepinephrine and its metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid, plasma and urine. Archives of General Psychiatry 45, 849–857.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubin, A. L., Price, L. H., Charney, D. S. & Henninger, G. R. (1985). Noradrenergic function and the cortisol response to dexamethasone in depression. Psychiatry Research 15, 5–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siever, L. & Davis, K. (1985). Overview: toward a dysregulation hypothesis of depression. American Journal of Psychiatry 142, 1017–1031.Google Scholar
Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W. & Gibbon, M. (1985). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III Patient Version. Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032.Google Scholar
Stene, M., Panagiotis, N., Tuck, M. L., Sowers, J. R., Mayes, D. & Berg, G. (1980). Plasma norepinephrine levels are influenced by sodium intake, glucocorticoid administration and circadian changes in normal man. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 51, 1340–1345.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sternbach, H. A., Extein, I., Sweeney, D. R., Gold, M. S. & Pottash, A. L. C. (1983). Cortisol secretion and urinary MHPG in unipolar depression. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 13, 261–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stokes, P. E., Frazer, A. & Casper, R. (1981). Unexpected neuroendocrine transmitter relationships. Psychopharmacological Bulletin 17, 72–75.Google ScholarPubMed
Tilders, F. J. H., Berkenbosch, F., Vernes, I., Linton, E. A. & Smelik, P. G. (1985). Role of epinephrine and vasopressin in the control of the pituitary adrenal response to stress. Federation Proceedings 44, 155–160.Google ScholarPubMed
Valentino, R., Foote, S. & Aston-Jones, G. (1983). Corticotropin-releasing factor activates noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus. Brain Research 270, 363–367.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warsh, J. J., Hasey, G., Cooke, R., Stancer, H. C., Persad, E, Jorna, T. & Godse, D. D. (1985). Elevated 3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl ethyleneglycol (DHPG) excretion in dexamethasone-resistant depressed patients. Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 9, 661–664.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolkowitz, O. M., Doran, A. R., Breier, A., Roy, A. & Jimerson, D. C. (1987). The effects of dexamethasone on plasma homo-vanillic acid and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol; evidence for abnormal corticosteroid–catecholamine interactions in major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 44, 782–789.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, D., Shen, Y., Shu, L. & Lo, H., (1987). Dexamethasone suppression test and urinary MHPG-SO4 determination in depressive disorder. Biological Psychiatry 22, 883–891.Google Scholar