Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T11:01:15.025Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dexamethasone Concentrations and the Dexamethasone Suppression Test in Psychiatric Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Howard Morris ,
Vaughan Carr ,
Judy Gilliland  and
Michael Hooper
Howard Morris*
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Chemistry, Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000
Vaughan Carr
Affiliation:
University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000
Judy Gilliland
Affiliation:
Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000
Michael Hooper
Affiliation:
Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000
*
Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) has been widely used in psychiatry as a laboratory aid for the diagnosis of endogenous depression; failure to suppress serum cortisol levels is interpreted as confirming a clinical diagnosis of endogenous depression. We found that serum dexamethasone concentrations in this test vary widely and are determinants of the DST response: non-suppression of serum cortisol levels is associated with low serum dexamethasone concentrations, and suppression is associated with high concentrations.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 148 , Issue 1 , January 1986 , pp. 66 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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

American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Menial Disorders, 3rd edition, Washington, D.C.: A.P.A. Google Scholar
Amsterdam, J. D., Winokur, A., Caroff, S. N. & Conn, J. (1982) The dexamethasone suppression test in outpatients with primary affective disorder and healthy control subjects. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 287–291.Google ScholarPubMed
Balldin, J., Gottfries, C.-G., Karlsson, I., Lindstedt, G., L→ngström, G. & W→linder, J. (1983) Dexamethasone suppression test and serum prolactin in dementia disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 277–281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyce, P., Galletly, C. & Morris, H. A. (1983) The dexamethasone suppression test: Normal, abnormal and anomalous. Paper presented at The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Annual Congress, Adelaide, October.Google Scholar
Carroll, B. J., Feinbero, M., Greden, J. F., Tarika, J., Albala, A. A., Haskett, R. F., James, N. Mci, Kronfol, Z., Lohr, N., Steiner, M., De Vigne, J. P. & Young, E. (1981) A specific laboratory test for the diagnosis of melancholia. Standardization, validation and clinical utility. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 15–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, E., Shroeder, K., Mukhopadhyay, S., Greden, J. F., Feinberg, M., Ritchie, J. & Tarika, J. (1980) Plasma dexamethasone concentrations and Cortisol suppression response in patients with endogenous depression. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 51, 433–437.Google Scholar
Coppen, A., Abou-Saleh, M., Milln, P., Metcalfe, M., Harwood, J. & Barley, J. (1983) Dexamethasone suppression test in depression and other psychiatric illness. British Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 498–504.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garrow, J. S. (1980) Combined medical-surgical approaches to treatment of obesity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 33, 425–430.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gwirtsman, H. E., Roy-Byrne, P., Yager, J. & Gerner, R. H. (1983) Neuroendocrine abnormalities in bulimia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 559–563.Google ScholarPubMed
Hällström, T., Samuelsson, S., Balldin, J., W→linder, J., Berotsson, C., Nyström, E., Andersch, B., Lindstedt, G. & Lundberc, P. A. (1983) Abnormal dexamethasone suppression test in normal females. British Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 489–497.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holsboer, F., Haack, D., Gerken, A. & Vecsei, P. (1984) Plasma dexamethasone concentrations and differential suppression response of cortisol and corticosterone in depressives and controls. Biological Psychiatry, 19, 81–293.Google ScholarPubMed
Johnson, G. F. S. & Hunt, G. F. (1984) Dexamethasone suppression test, sensitivity and specificity in depression and relationship to plasma dexamethasone levels. Abstracts of the 14th Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologi, Collegium Congress, June.Google Scholar
Knapp, T. R. (1983) A methodological critique of the ‘ideal weight’ concept. Journal of the American Medical Association, 250, 506–510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krieg, J. C., Berger, M., Pirke, K. M. & von Zerssen, D. (1984) Some critical remarks to an abnormal dexamethasone suppression test as an alleged biological marker for melancholia. Proceedings of the 14th Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologi, Collegium Congress, Clinical Neuropharmacology, 7, Suppl 1. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Lee, J., Kolonel, L. N. & Hinds, M. W. (1981) Relative merits of the weight-corrected-for-height indices. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 34, 2521–2529.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meikle, A. W. (1982) Dexamethasone suppression tests: Usefulness of simultaneous measurement of plasma cortisol and dexamethasone. Clinical Endocrinology. 16, 401–408.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raskind, M., Peskind, E., Rivard, M.-F., Veith, R. & Barnes, R. (1982) Dexamethasone suppression test and cortisol circadian rhythm in primary degenerative dementia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 1468–1471.Google ScholarPubMed
Sheehan, D. V., Claycomb, J. B., Surman, O. S., Baer, L., Coleman, J. & Gelles, L. (1983) Panic attacks and the dexamethasone suppression test. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 1063–1064.Google ScholarPubMed
Swartz, C. M. & Dunner, F. J. (1982) Dexamethasone suppression testing of alcoholics. Archives of General Psychiatry. 39, 1309–1312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Targum, S. D. (1983) Neuroendocrine dysfunction in schizophreniform disorder: Correlation with six-month outcome. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 309–313.Google Scholar
Targum, S. D. & Capodanno, A. E. (1983) The dexamethasone suppression test in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 589–591.Google ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.