Young Allan H, Gallagher Peter, Porter Richard J
Department of Psychiatry, Leazes Wing, Royal Victoria Infirmary, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP, UK.
Am J Psychiatry. 2002 Jul;159(7):1237-9. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.7.1237.
Elevated basal cortisol levels are a feature of depressive illness and cause deficits in learning and memory. The adrenal steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has antiglucocorticoid properties that may offer protection against the deleterious effects of cortisol. The authors examined the ratio of cortisol to DHEA in drug-free depressed patients and a matched comparison group.
Cortisol and DHEA were measured in saliva samples from 39 patients with unipolar depression who had been medication free for at least 6 weeks and 41 healthy comparison subjects.
The molar cortisol-DHEA ratio was significantly higher in the depressed patients than in the healthy comparison subjects. Cortisol-DHEA ratios from saliva samples taken at 8:00 p.m. correlated positively with length of current depressive episode.
Elevated cortisol-DHEA ratios may be a state marker of depressive illness and may contribute to the associated deficits in learning and memory. Administration of DHEA or other antiglucocorticoid treatments may reduce neurocognitive deficits in major depression.
基础皮质醇水平升高是抑郁症的一个特征，且会导致学习和记忆缺陷。肾上腺类固醇脱氢表雄酮（DHEA）具有抗糖皮质激素特性，可能对皮质醇的有害影响起到保护作用。作者研究了未服用药物的抑郁症患者与匹配的对照组中皮质醇与DHEA的比值。
对39例至少6周未服药的单相抑郁症患者和41名健康对照者的唾液样本进行皮质醇和DHEA检测。
抑郁症患者的皮质醇 - DHEA摩尔比显著高于健康对照者。晚上8点采集的唾液样本中的皮质醇 - DHEA比值与当前抑郁发作的时长呈正相关。
皮质醇 - DHEA比值升高可能是抑郁症的一种状态标志物，可能导致相关的学习和记忆缺陷。给予DHEA或其他抗糖皮质激素治疗可能会减少重度抑郁症中的神经认知缺陷。
