title: 7. Corticosteroid secretion--clinical aspects. Plasma cortisol concentrations in the functional psychoses and Alzheimer type dementia: a neuroendocrine day approach in drug-free patients.
abstract: We have investigated the plasma concentration of cortisol in psychotic patients classified according to Feighner's criteria as either depressed, manic, schizophrenic or unclassified, and in 8 patients with Alzheimer's Type Dementia. The patients had been free of either neuroleptic or antidepressant drugs for at least 3 months before the study. Blood sampling was carried out by way of a "neuroendrocrine day" approach in which venous samples were taken at 07:00, 07:30 and 08:00 h; 15:00, 15:30 and 16:00 h; and 23:00, 23:30 and 24:00 h. This approach permits determination of circadian pattern of hormone release and allows for pulsatile hormone release. These preliminary results showed that, contrary to expectation, neither the mean concentrations nor the circadian pattern of plasma cortisol concentrations in patients with depression differed significantly from those in any other group.
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003704:Dementia / Q000097:blood*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone