title: A single DEX/CRH test in male drug-free depressed patients is associated with the clinical response to treatment with fluoxetine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The DEX/CRH test has been proposed to be suitable as a biomarker for the prediction of treatment response in depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed the DEX/CRH test in 10 severely depressed male patients with melancholic features before initiation of antidepressant treatment with 20 mg fluoxetine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found a low cortisol response (as measured by cortisol AUC) to a single DEX/CRH test to be associated with clinical response to treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A strength of this study lies in the inclusion of patients after a drug wash-out phase. Despite a certain inconsistency described in the literature, several studies support the notion that it might be of importance to measure baseline HPA system activity before choice of treatment. Further systematic studies are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Central Institute of Mental Health, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany. Georgios.Paslakis@zi-mannheim.de
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paslakis
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Heuser
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schweiger
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deuschle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019540:Area Under Curve; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003907:Dexamethasone; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D005473:Fluoxetine; D003907:Dexamethasone; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone