Rubin A L, Price L H, Charney D S, Heninger G R
Psychiatry Res. 1985 May;15(1):5-15. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(85)90034-4.
Abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the noradrenergic system have been reported in depression. To study possible interrelations between these two systems, plasma free 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) was compared with the cortisol response to dexamethasone in 64 depressed patients. Postdexamethasone cortisol nonsuppressors had higher baseline plasma free MHPG values than did cortisol suppressors. Increased severity of some depressive symptoms was associated with increased post-dexamethasone cortisol levels. These results indicate that depressed patients with dexamethasone nonsuppression have increased noradrenergic turnover.
抑郁症患者中已报道存在下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）轴和去甲肾上腺素能系统的异常。为研究这两个系统之间可能的相互关系，对64例抑郁症患者的血浆游离3 - 甲氧基 - 4 - 羟基苯乙二醇（MHPG）与地塞米松的皮质醇反应进行了比较。地塞米松后皮质醇不被抑制者的基线血浆游离MHPG值高于皮质醇被抑制者。某些抑郁症状严重程度的增加与地塞米松后皮质醇水平的升高有关。这些结果表明，地塞米松不被抑制的抑郁症患者去甲肾上腺素能转换增加。
