Pochigaeva Ksenia, Druzhkova Tatiana, Yakovlev Alexander, Onufriev Mikhail, Grishkina Maria, Chepelev Aleksey, Guekht Alla, Gulyaeva Natalia
Healthcare Department of Moscow, Moscow Research and Clinical Center for Neuropsychiatry, Moscow, Russia.
Department of Functional Biochemistry of the Nervous System, Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Butlerova street 5a, Moscow, 117485, Russia.
Metab Brain Dis. 2017 Apr;32(2):577-583. doi: 10.1007/s11011-017-9952-0. Epub 2017 Jan 7.
Hair cortisol is regarded as a promising marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) activity alterations due to stress, somatic and mental health conditions. Hair cortisol was previously reported to be elevated in patients with depression, however the data related to remission and recurrent depressive episodes are different. In this study, levels of hair cortisol were assessed in female patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and the validity of hair cortisol as a marker of HPAA activity in this condition was evaluated. Hair cortisol was measured in 1 cm hair segments of 21 female patients with MDD and 22 female age-matched controls using enzyme-immunoassay analysis. Concurrently, serum cortisol was assessed and psychological status was evaluated using 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Spielberger state trait anxiety inventory (STAI). The levels of hair cortisol were significantly lower in the MDD group, while serum cortisol levels were significantly higher in patients, as compared with controls. A significant negative correlation was found between HAMD-17 scores and hair cortisol. Decreased hair cortisol found in female patients with MDD as compared to controls suggests downregulation of HPAA activity during the preceding month. Further studies are needed to investigate the profiles of hair cortisol at different stages of depressive disorder to establish this parameter as a handy clinical tool.
头发皮质醇被视为一种有前景的生物标志物，可用于反映因压力、躯体和心理健康状况导致的下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴（HPAA）活动改变。此前有报道称抑郁症患者的头发皮质醇水平会升高，然而与缓解期和复发性抑郁发作相关的数据却有所不同。在本研究中，对女性重度抑郁症（MDD）患者的头发皮质醇水平进行了评估，并评价了头发皮质醇作为该疾病中HPAA活动标志物的有效性。采用酶免疫分析方法，对21例女性MDD患者和22例年龄匹配的女性对照者的1厘米头发段中的头发皮质醇进行了测量。同时，评估血清皮质醇水平，并使用17项汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HAMD - 17）、贝克抑郁量表（BDI）和斯皮尔伯格状态特质焦虑量表（STAI）对心理状态进行评估。与对照组相比，MDD组的头发皮质醇水平显著降低，而患者的血清皮质醇水平显著升高。HAMD - 17评分与头发皮质醇之间存在显著负相关。与对照组相比，女性MDD患者的头发皮质醇水平降低表明在前一个月HPAA活动下调。需要进一步研究来调查抑郁症不同阶段的头发皮质醇特征，以便将该参数确立为一种便捷的临床工具。
