title: A novel prednisolone suppression test for the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
abstract: We have developed a suppressive test for the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis using prednisolone, which is similar to endogenous glucocorticoids. We used a single-blind, repeated-measure design in healthy volunteers. In the first phase of the study, we compared placebo or prednisolone 2.5 mg, 5 mg, or 10 mg; in the second phase of the study, we compared placebo or prednisolone 5 mg or dexamethasone.5 mg. On the following day, we collected plasma and salivary cortisol levels from 9 AM to 5 PM. Maximal average prednisolone plasma levels (at 9 AM after the 10-mg dose) were 30 to 35 ng/mL. At all doses, prednisolone caused a larger suppression of salivary cortisol (approximately 20% after 2.5 mg, 30% to 35% after 5 mg, and 70% to 75% after 10 mg) than of plasma cortisol (approximately 5% after 2.5 mg, 10% after 5 mg, and 35% after 10 mg). Dexamethasone.5 mg gave 80% suppression of plasma cortisol and 90% suppression of salivary cortisol. Plasma and salivary cortisol levels were more consistently correlated in each subject after prednisolone than after dexamethasone. We propose that prednisolone at the 5-mg dosage (which gave partial HPA suppression), together with the assessment of salivary cortisol, can be used to investigate both impaired and enhanced glucocorticoid-mediated negative feedback in large samples of patients with psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Section of Clinical Neuropharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Carmine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pariante
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poon
authors.forename: Stuart A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Checkley
authors.forename: Judie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: English
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Kerwin
authors.forename: Stafford
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lightman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003907:Dexamethasone; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000378:metabolism; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone; D011239:Prednisolone; D006854:Hydrocortisone