Pituitary hormone responses to meta-chlorophenylpiperazine in panic disorder and healthy control subjects.

The present study reports adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and prolactin responses after oral administration of 0.25 mg/kg of the serotonin agonist, meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (MCPP), in patients with panic disorder (PD) and in healthy subjects. MCPP blood levels were similar for the two groups, but almost twice as high in males as in females. Female patients had augmented ACTH and prolactin release as compared to healthy females, while ACTH and prolactin release in male patients was similar to that of male controls. These results suggest that female PD patients have hypersensitive serotonin receptors. Moreover, they indicate that pharmacokinetic gender differences may affect challenge studies, and that different doses may be required to study neuroendocrine responses in males and females.