Repeated dexamethasone suppression test in depressed patients

Post‐dexamethasone cortisol correlates with severity of depression before and during carbamazepine treatment in women but not men

“…We replicated the findings of Maes et al (26, 27) that the significant positive correlation between post‐DST maximum serum cortisol level and severity of depressive symptoms in the patient group was accounted for by women, but not men (29). This selective relationship for women was maintained following treatment with carbamazepine despite a threefold elevation in the mean maximum serum cortisol levels.…”

“…Several studies have shown a correlation between post‐DST serum cortisol level and severity of depressive symptoms (26–28). Most such studies combine all subjects regardless of gender or age.…”

Mechanisms of interferon-alpha-induced depressive symptoms

“…Finally, antidepressant drugs such as desipramine, imipramine and amytriptyline (23) are able to decrease HPA activity. The fact that patients who do not respond to antidepressant treatment continue to have HPA dysregulation (24) supports a causal relationship between normalization of stress hormone regulation and clinical recovery. Antidepressants may be able to down‐regulate HPA activity by decreasing CRH gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (25) and by increasing corticosteroid receptor sites in brain regions known to mediate the inhibitory effects of glucocorticoids on subsequent HPA activity, thereby increasing the feedback inhibition over the HPA axis (26).…”