The cortisol response to desipramine in endogenous depressives and normal controls: preliminary findings.
Plasma cortisol levels were monitored for 2 hours after an intramuscular injection of 75 mg desipramine in 13 endogenous depressives and 20 normal controls. Endogenous depressives had a significantly reduced cortisol response in comparison to normal controls, not explained by sex, age, or baseline cortisol differences between groups. A lack of a cortisol rise of 1.5 micrograms/dl above baseline by 45 minutes discriminated best, with 7 of 13 depressives (55%) being identified in contrast to only 1 of 20 normals (5%). The results suggest that this may be a useful biological test with acceptable sensitivity (55%) and excellent specificity (95%). Furthermore, these data suggest that norepinephrine may be stimulatory to cortisol in man.
D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003891:Desipramine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D003891:Desipramine; D006854:Hydrocortisone