Facchinetti F, Giovannini C, Barletta C, Petraglia F, Buzzetti R, Burla F, Lazzari R, Genazzani A R, Scavo D
Physiol Behav. 1986;36(5):937-40. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(86)90456-7.
Eight obese patients (exceeding ideal body weight by 50% or more) with no endocrinological or metabolic disorders and 8 healthy, age-matched, normal-weight volunteers were submitted to an overnight short dexamethasone (DXM) suppression test and to a psychological assessment through various psychometric scales. Plasma B-Endorphin (B-EP), B-Lipotropin (B-LPH), ACTH and cortisol concentrations were evaluated in basal conditions, as well as 9 and 17 hours after late night administration of 1 mg DXM in both groups. All hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay, either directly in the plasma (ACTH and cortisol) or after silicic acid extraction and Sephadex G-75 column chromatography (B-LPH and B-EP). In obese patients, plasma B-EP levels in basal conditions were three times higher than in normal weight controls and remained unaltered by DXM suppression. ACTH and B-LPH, in contrast, were within the normal range and were significantly reduced by DXM. In 3 of the 8 patients, plasma cortisol concentrations at 17 hours post-DXM were greater than 50 ng/ml indicating an early escape from the suppression. Psychometric evaluations revealed a prevalence of depressive personality in obese patients. These data indicate an hypersecretion of B-EP in obese patients, which is only partially dependent on hypothalamic control.
八名无内分泌或代谢紊乱的肥胖患者（超过理想体重50%或更多）以及八名健康的、年龄匹配的正常体重志愿者接受了过夜小剂量地塞米松（DXM）抑制试验，并通过各种心理测量量表进行了心理评估。在基础状态下以及两组在深夜给予1毫克DXM后9小时和17小时，评估血浆β-内啡肽（β-EP）、β-促脂素（β-LPH）、促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）和皮质醇浓度。所有激素均通过放射免疫测定法测量，ACTH和皮质醇直接在血浆中测量，β-LPH和β-EP则在硅酸提取和葡聚糖凝胶G-75柱色谱后测量。在肥胖患者中，基础状态下的血浆β-EP水平比正常体重对照组高两倍，且不受DXM抑制的影响。相比之下，ACTH和β-LPH在正常范围内，且被DXM显著降低。在8名患者中的3名中，DXM给药后17小时的血浆皮质醇浓度大于50纳克/毫升，表明早期出现抑制逃逸。心理测量评估显示肥胖患者中抑郁人格的患病率较高。这些数据表明肥胖患者中β-EP分泌过多，这仅部分依赖于下丘脑控制。
