Halbreich U, Asnis G M, Shindledecker R, Zumoff B, Nathan R S
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1985 Sep;42(9):909-14. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1985.01790320081011.
Plasma levels of cortisol were sampled for 24 hours in 32 endogenously depressed (ED) patients and 72 controls to examine mean 24-hour plasma levels of cortisol, intervention in the feedback mechanism of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system (the dexamethasone suppression test), the circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion and its magnitude, and the ultradian rhythm of cortisol secretion. The main difference in the pattern of cortisol secretion in ED patients, as compared with controls, was in the ultradian rhythm. No acrophase or nadir advance of cortisol secretion in endogenous depression was found when age was controlled, but there was an earlier timing of first secretory episode of cortisol (during night). Only some ED patients have abnormalities in each of the functions studied, and they only partially overlap each other. The results suggest that abnormal cortisol secretion in depression should not be viewed as a monolithic malfunction characteristic of endogenous depression.
对32名内源性抑郁症（ED）患者和72名对照者进行了24小时的血浆皮质醇水平采样，以检测24小时血浆皮质醇的平均水平、下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺系统反馈机制的干预情况（地塞米松抑制试验）、皮质醇分泌的昼夜节律及其幅度，以及皮质醇分泌的超日节律。与对照组相比，ED患者皮质醇分泌模式的主要差异在于超日节律。在控制年龄后，未发现内源性抑郁症患者皮质醇分泌的高峰相位或最低点提前，但皮质醇首次分泌发作的时间较早（在夜间）。只有部分ED患者在每项研究的功能中存在异常，且这些异常仅部分重叠。结果表明，抑郁症中异常的皮质醇分泌不应被视为内源性抑郁症的单一整体性功能障碍特征。
