title: Use of dexamethasone suppression test in clinical psychiatry.
abstract: The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) has been used in clinical medicine to evaluate overactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Consistent evidence has linked a specific dysfunction of the HPA axis to depressive illness. This article will review the physiology of the HPA axis and the method of the DST. After a critical review of the studies using the DST in psychiatric patients, the authors conclude that the overnight low dose DST can be a useful tool for the practitioner involved in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric illness.
mesh_terms: D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003907:Dexamethasone; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology*; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000502:physiology*; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D003907:Dexamethasone; D006854:Hydrocortisone