Provocative endocrine testing in recovered depressives

Abstract

Twenty-eight patients underwent a series of provocative endocrine tests an average of one year after their last admission for depression. Hypersecretion of cortisol, early escape of cortisol from dexamethasone suppression, diminished growth hormone response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia and altered thyrotropin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone reported in acute primary depression were not observed after recovery. There were no differences in these measures after recovery between previous suppressors and nonsuppressors to dexamethasone. The cortisol response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia was less than expected in 6 of 16 recovered patients tested. There were significant differences in post-dexamethasone urinary free cortisol and in basal and early post-insulin serum cortisol levels between patients who had been suppressors and those who had been nonsuppressors to dexamethasone during acute depression. Further studies need to be done to substantiate these findings. These data indicate that hormone responses in recovered depressives are largely normal, suggesting that abnormalities during depression are “state” related phenomena.