Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T16:47:53.840Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Effect of Desipramine upon Melatonin and Cortisol Secretion in Depressed and Normal Subjects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Christopher Thompson ,
Gillian Mezey ,
Timothy Corn ,
Christine Franey ,
Judith English ,
Josephine Arendt  and
Stuart Checkley
Christopher Thompson
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry. Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London
Gillian Mezey
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, London
Timothy Corn
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Christine Franey
Affiliation:
Biochemistry Department, University of Surrey
Judith English
Affiliation:
Biochemistry Department, University of Surrey
Josephine Arendt
Affiliation:
Biochemistry Department, University of Surrey
Stuart Checkley*
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AZ
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Melatonin and Cortisol values in plasma were measured hourly over 24 hours in six depressed patients and six normal volunteers before treatment and after one and three weeks of treatment with desipramine. The normal volunteers were further tested one week after withdrawal of desipramine. The mydriatic effects of tyramine and phenylephrine eye drops were also recorded in the normal volunteers.

In neither group of subjects did desipramine treatment reduce melatonin secretion, suggesting that functionally significant down-regulation of beta andrenoceptors was not caused by this treatment. Melatonin secretion was significantly increased after three weeks of treatment in depressed patients. This increase was not found in normal subjects.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 147 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 389 - 393
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 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

Beck-Friis, J., Von Kosen, O., Kjellman, B. F., Ljunggren, J.-G. & Wetterberg, L. (1984) Melatonin in relation to body measures, sex, age, season and the use of drugs in patients with major affective disorder and healthy subjects. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 9, 261–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braithwaitl, R. (1979) Measurement of antidepressant drugs. Proceedings Analytical Division of Chemical Society, 16, 69–72.Google Scholar
Carnfcy, M. W. P., Roth, M. & Garside, R. F. (1965) The diagnosis of depressive syndromes and the prediction of ECT response. British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 659–674.Google Scholar
Carr, D. R., Reppert, S. M., Bullen, B., Skrinar, G., Beitins, I., Arnold, M., Rosenblatt, M., Martin, J. B. & McArthur, J. N. (1981) Plasma melatonin increases during exercise in women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 53, 224–225.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charney, D. S., Meninger, C. R., Sternberg, D. E., Redmond, E. E., Leckman, J. F., Maas, J. W. & Ruth, R. H. (1981) Presynaptic adrenergic sensitivity in depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 1334–1340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cowen, P. J., Fraser, S., Sammons, R. & Green, A. R. (1983) Atenolol reduces plasma melatonin concentration in man. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 15, 579–581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fraser, S., Cowen, P., Franklin, M., Franey, C. & Arendt, J. (1983) Direct radioimmunoassay for melatonin in plasma. Clinical Chemistry, 29, 396–399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1967) Development of a rating scale for primary depressive illness. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychiatry, 6, 278–296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hanssen, T., Heyden, T., Sundberg, Il & Wetterberg, L. (1977) Effect of propranolol on serum melatonin. Lancet, 11, 309–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heydorn, W. E., Brunswick, D. J. & Frazer, A. (1982) Effect of treatment of rats with antidepressants on melatonin concentrations in the pineal gland and serum. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 222, 534–543.Google ScholarPubMed
Kappers, J. A. (1965) The Structure and Function of the epiphysis Cerebri. Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Lewy, A. (1983) Mammalian melatonin production. In The Pineal Gland (ed. Relkin, R.). Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Lynch, H. J., Wurtman, R. J., Moscowitz, M. A. & Aacher, M. L. (1975) Daily rhythm in human urinary melatonin. Science, 187, 169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendlewicz, J., Branchey, L., Weinberg, U., Branchey, M., Linkowski, P. & Weitzman, E. D. (1980) The 24-hour pattern of plasma melatonin in depressed patients before and after treatment. Psychopharmacology, 4, 49–55.Google Scholar
Shur, E. & Checkley, S. A. (1982) Pupil studies in depressed patients: an investigation of the mechanism of action of desipramine. British Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 181–184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J. & Robins, E. (1978) Research Diagnostic Criteria for a selected group of functional disorders.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sulser, F., Vetulani, J. & Mobley, P. L. (1978) Mode of action of antidepressant drugs. Biochemical Pharmacology, 27, 257–261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, C., Corn, T., Franey, C., Arendt, J. & Checkley, S. A. (1983) Down regulation at pineal beta adrenoceptors in depressed patients treated with desipramine. Lancet, 1, 1101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wehr, T. A. & Wirz-justice, A. (1982) Orcadian rhythm mechanism in affective illness and in antidepressant drug action. Pharmaco-psychiatria, 15, 31–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wetterberg, L., Beck-friis, J., Aperia, B. & Petterson, U. (1979) Melatonin/cortisol ratio in depression. Lancet, 11, 1361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wirz-Justice, A., Arendt, J. & Marston, A. (1980) Antidepressant drugs elevate rat pineal and plasma melatonin. Experientia, 36, 442–444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wirz-Justice, A., & Campbell, I. C. (1982) Antidepressant drugs can slow or dissociate circadian rhythms. Experientia, 38, 1301–1309.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.