title: Multiple hormone responses to clonidine administration in depressed patients and healthy volunteers.
abstract: Abnormalities in several hypothalamic-pituitary-target organ axes in depression may reflect alterations in central neurotransmitter receptor function. As the alpha 2-adrenergic receptor has been implicated in a variety of neuroendocrine abnormalities in depression, we assessed the role of alpha 2-adrenoceptor dysfunction in mediating response abnormalities of growth hormone, cortisol, and prolactin after intravenous clonidine administration (an alpha 2-adrenergic receptor agonist) in 18 patients with major depression (12 with melancholic features, 6 without melancholic symptoms) and 9 healthy volunteers. In particular, we examined the hypothesis that these abnormalities might be more evident in patients with DSM-III melancholic depression. After clonidine, the mean growth hormone response was significantly lower in melancholic depressives compared to controls (p = 0.02), and the shape of the growth hormone response profile was also significantly different in melancholic patients (p = 0.04). There was an overall decrease in the mean cortisol concentration after clonidine in melancholic patients and control subjects (p = 0.02), as well as a larger cumulative prolactin response in melancholic patients compared to those without melancholic features (p = 0.02). The present results confirm prior observations of a blunted growth hormone response after clonidine and suggest that alterations in alpha 2-adrenergic receptor activity might also contribute to several neuroendocrine abnormalities in patients with melancholic depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Amsterdam
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maislin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Skolnick
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Berwish
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Winokur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003000:Clonidine; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D011388:Prolactin; D013006:Growth Hormone; D003000:Clonidine; D006854:Hydrocortisone