Corticosteroid-binding globulin is not decreased in depressed patients.
We studied corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) in 25 drug-free depressed patients and 33 healthy controls over a wide age-range. CBG was measured at 0800, 1400, 2000 and 2400 h in all subjects. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measurement design revealed a significant effect of gender and time, but not of diagnosis (depressed patients vs healthy controls) or age group (< 50/> 50 years). In females, regardless of diagnosis, CBG plasma concentrations were significantly increased, when compared with their male counterparts. Although as a group depressed patients had significantly higher plasma cortisol concentrations (108.0 +/- 23.1 vs 70.7 +/- 10.9 micrograms/l), CBG levels did not differ between the two groups. Thus we did not find hypercortisolemia in depression to be paralleled by a decrease in CBG. However, the exaggerated activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical system in healthy and depressed females is associated with an increase in plasma CBG.
Deuschle
M
M
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Clinical Institute, Munich, Germany. deuschle@as200.zi-mannheim.de
Schweiger
U
U
Standhardt
H
H
Weber
B
B
Heuser
I
I
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors; D014156:Transcortin / Q000378:metabolism*
D014156:Transcortin; D006854:Hydrocortisone