title: Plasma melatonin and cortisol circadian patterns in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder before and after fluoxetine treatment.
abstract: The circadian rhythms of melatonin and cortisol were evaluated in seven outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) before and after 8 weeks of fluoxetine treatment (20 mg/day in the first 2 weeks, and 40 mg/day afterwards), and in seven healthy subjects matched to patients on age, sex and season of testing. The results confirm our previous findings of a decreased 24-h production of melatonin (p < .05; two-way ANOVA with repeated measures) and of an increased circadian secretion of cortisol (p < .01) in OCD patients with respect to matched controls, and show, for the first time, that these hormonal alterations do not significantly change after 2 months of fluoxetine administration, in spite of a good clinical improvement. These data suggest that the normalization of the biochemical changes underlying the altered endocrine parameters in obsessive-compulsive patients is not necessary for effective therapy or clinical remission.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Second University of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monteleone
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Catapano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tortorella
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Martino
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maj
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D005473:Fluoxetine; D006854:Hydrocortisone; D008550:Melatonin; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors