Subtypes in major depression without melancholia.

Using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM III, 1980) criteria to diagnose major depression without melancholia, 70 adult patients were selected for further detailed clinical and neuro-endocrinological evaluation. Two subtypes emerged; changes in sleeping patterns, body mass and thyrotrophin response to thyrotrophin-releasing hormone constituted the distinguishing features between the two categories (P = 0.012).