Significantly increased urinary free cortisol excretion in melancholic depressed females during L-tryptophan loading
✍ Scribed by M. Maes; B. Minner; E. Suy; P. D'hondt
- Book ID
- 102860256
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1990
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 508 KB
- Volume
- 5
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6222
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
To assess the status of serotonergic neurotransmission in depressed females, the authors examined the excretion of free cortisol in 24 h urine both before and after administering 5 g L-tryptophan (L-TRP) orally. The depressed patients were classified according to the DSM-I11 into minor, simple major and major depression with melancholia. We found a significant, enhancing effect for L-TRP on urinary free cortisol (UFC) excretion. The absolute increments in UFC induced by L-TRP were significantly higher in melancholic females as compared to minor and simple major depressives. We found no differences among the DSM-I11 groups in the availability of L-TRP to the brain, 9 h after L-TRP administration.