title: Clinical subtypes of unipolar depression: Part III. Quantitative differences in various biological markers between the cluster-analytically generated nonvital and vital depression classes.
abstract: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, and the availability of L-tryptophan (L-TRP) to the brain were studied in their relationships to (1) 14 depressive symptoms measured by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R--Patient Version (SCID) and (2) the cluster-analytically generated vital/nonvital classes. The following biological parameters were measured in 100 depressed females: free thyroxine (FT4), baseline thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), predexamethasone and postdexamethasone cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) values, the circulating levels of total L-TRP, and the L-TRP/sum of competing amino acids ratio. We found that the psychopathological correlates of disorders in the HPA/HPT axis and of a decreased availability of L-TRP were vital symptoms, i.e., distinct quality of mood, nonreactivity, early morning awakening, anorexia-weight loss, and psychomotor disorders. There was no significant relationship between those biological markers and the nonvital symptoms of the SCID inventory for depressive symptoms. However, we did not validate our SCID clustering in vital and nonvital classes by qualitative differences in the biological variables. It was concluded that our nonvital/vital clusters should be regarded as continuous categories with regard to the biological markers studied; these clusters constitute relevant stages in the continuum of progressing biological dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biological Psychiatry, University Hospital of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schotte
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vandewoude
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Hondt
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blockx
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scharpé
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cosyns
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003907:Dexamethasone; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood; D013973:Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D013973:Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; D003907:Dexamethasone; D014364:Tryptophan; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D013972:Thyrotropin; D013974:Thyroxine; D006854:Hydrocortisone