Kluge Michael, Schussler Petra, Schmid Dagmar, Uhr Manfred, Kleyer Sara, Yassouridis Alexander, Steiger Axel
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
Neuropsychobiology. 2009;59(4):199-204. doi: 10.1159/000223731. Epub 2009 Jun 10.
In patients with major depression, the function of most endocrine axes is altered compared to healthy subjects. The orexigenic hormone ghrelin, which shows higher plasma levels in females than males, interacts with several of these endocrine axes. In addition, ghrelin levels in depressed patients decrease with psychopathological improvement. Therefore, we hypothesized that ghrelin levels in patients with major depression would be higher than in healthy subjects.
Nocturnal (20:00-07:00 h) secretion patterns of ghrelin in 20 patients with major depression [11 females, age 39.4 +/- 10.2 years (mean +/- standard deviation); 9 males, age 38.3 +/- 10.4 years] with a total score on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, 21-item version, of 24.8 +/- 5.2 and 20 healthy subjects [11 females, age 38.7 +/- 10.8 years; 9 males, age 39.1 +/- 11.2 years] were determined following an adaptation night.
Ghrelin plasma levels of depressed patients and matched healthy subjects did not differ at any point in time when stratified for sex. Accordingly, the area under the curve was comparable: depressed females, 423.3 +/- 103.4; healthy females, 398.0 +/- 94.6; depressed males, 266.3 +/- 56.9, and healthy males, 228.4 +/- 41.3.
This is the first comparison of ghrelin secretion patterns in patients with major depression and healthy controls. Surprisingly, no relevant differences were ascertained between the two groups.
与健康受试者相比，重度抑郁症患者多数内分泌轴的功能会发生改变。食欲素激素胃饥饿素在女性体内的血浆水平高于男性，它与其中一些内分泌轴相互作用。此外，抑郁症患者的胃饥饿素水平会随着精神病理学症状的改善而降低。因此，我们推测重度抑郁症患者的胃饥饿素水平会高于健康受试者。
对20例重度抑郁症患者[11名女性，年龄39.4±10.2岁（均值±标准差）；9名男性，年龄38.3±10.4岁]和20名健康受试者[11名女性，年龄38.7±10.8岁；9名男性，年龄39.1±11.2岁]进行研究。重度抑郁症患者汉密尔顿抑郁量表（21项版）总分平均为24.8±5.2。在适应期一晚后，测定两组受试者夜间（20:00 - 07:00时）胃饥饿素的分泌模式。
按性别分层时，抑郁症患者和匹配的健康受试者在任何时间点的血浆胃饥饿素水平均无差异。因此，曲线下面积具有可比性：抑郁症女性为423.3±103.4；健康女性为398.0±94.6；抑郁症男性为266.3±56.9，健康男性为228.4±41.3。
这是首次对重度抑郁症患者和健康对照者的胃饥饿素分泌模式进行比较。令人惊讶的是，两组之间未发现相关差异。
