Dexamethasone suppression test and noradrenergic function in affective and schizophrenic disorders.

The relationship between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function and the noradrenergic system was examined in patients with affective and with schizophrenic disorders. In response to the Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST), serum cortisol, plasma catecholamine levels, and serum creatine kinase (CK) activity were measured. Among patients with major depression, those with higher post-DST cortisol levels had higher plasma catecholamine levels and lower serum CK activity. Among acute schizophrenic patients, those with higher serum CK activity had higher baseline and post-DST cortisol levels. These results indicate that in both major depression and in acute schizophrenia, there is a dysfunction of the HPA axis and the noradrenergic system, but the noradrenergic dysfunctions are different in the two disorders.