title: Relationship between plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisol concentrations in chronic alcoholic patients with depression.
abstract: In 20 hospitalized male chronic alcoholic patients, plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) levels were estimated by radioimmunoassay and cortisol levels by the competitive protein binding (CPB) method with radioactive selenium-75 on admission and during abstinence along with rating of the degree of depression immediately after the acute phase of the ethanol withdrawal syndrome was over. Duration of drinking ranged from 5 to 25 years and average daily ethanol intake was between 100 and 150 g. Plasma ACTH levels were found to be raised in drinking chronic alcoholics. There was a positive and statistically significant correlation between depression ratings and plasma ACTH concentrations (r = + 0.379; P less than 0.05). In chronic alcoholism the negative feedback mechanism seems to be disturbed between plasma ACTH and cortisol levels which are not normalised after 1 week of total abstinence. Chronic ethanol ingestion might have a direct stimulatory effect on the adrenal cortex leading to dysregulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis.
authors.affiliation: Elmdene Alcoholic Treatment and Research Unit, Bexley Hospital, Kent, U.K.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Majumdar
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Bridges
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D006519:Hepatitis, Alcoholic / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012644:Selenium Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D012644:Selenium Radioisotopes; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone