High delta sleep-inducing peptide-like immunoreactivity in plasma in suicidal patients with major depressive disorder.
BACKGROUND
Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) supposedly involves the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Previous studies have shown deviated plasma DSIP-like immunoreactivity (DSIP-LI) levels, as well as abnormal DSIP-LI responses to corticotropin-releasing hormone in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study was performed to investigate plasma-DSIP-LI and its association with the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) in suicide attempters.


METHODS
Plasma-DSIP and serum cortisol were measured before and after dexamethasone intake in 34 suicide attempters and in healthy age- and sex-matched controls.


RESULTS
We found significantly elevated DSIP-LI levels in MDD patients (p < .005), and a significant correlation between predexamethasone cortisol and predexamethasone DSIP-LI levels in healthy controls. Postdexamethasone DSIP-LI levels increased in subjects with low predexamethasone DSIP-LI levels, whereas they decreased in subjects with high predexamethasone DSIP-LI levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Results give some support to the theory of glucocorticoid involvement in the regulation of DSIP, and suggest altered DSIP-LI levels in suicidal MDD patients.
Westrin
A
A
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lund University, Sweden.
Ekman
R
R
Träskman-Bendz
L
L
D000328:Adult; D003701:Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide / Q000097:blood*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003907:Dexamethasone; 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; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*
D003701:Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide; D003907:Dexamethasone; D006854:Hydrocortisone