title: Corticotropin-releasing factor immunoreactivity in post-mortem brain from depressed suicides.
abstract: Corticotropin-releasing factor immunoreactivity (CRF-I) was measured in cortical brain tissue obtained at post-mortem from 12 suicide victims with clear evidence of depressive illness and 12 age-matched and sex-matched control subjects dying by natural causes. There were no significant differences in mean CRF-I concentrations in frontal, temporal, motor and parietal cortex between the total suicide group, or the eight drug-free suicides and their matched controls. These findings suggest that cortical CRF-I concentrations are unaltered in depressive illness and are discussed in relation to recent reports of elevated CRF-I con centrations in the cerebrospinal fluid of depressed patients.
authors.affiliation: MRC Neuroendocrinology Unit, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE4 6BE, U.K.
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Charlton
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Cheetham
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Horton
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Katona
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Crompton
authors.forename: I N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Ferrier