Toward a biochemical classification of depressive disorders, VII: urinary free cortisol and urinary MHPG in depressions.

The authors measured urinary free cortisol and urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) levels in 24 severely depressed patients and 22 normal control subjects. Urinary free cortisol levels were significantly higher in the depressed patients than in the control subjects, but mean urinary MHPG levels were not significantly different in these two groups. A very high positive correlation between urinary MHPG levels and urinary free cortisol levels was found in the depressed patients but not in the control subjects.