Growth hormone response in patients with depression.

We interpreted our previous findings obtained with clonidine in depressive patients to indicate that in endogenous depressive patients--in contrast to neurotic depressive patients and controls--there is a reduced sensitivity of postsynaptic alpha-adrenergic receptors or of structures related to them. In the present study, after desipramine (DMI) (75 mg i.m.), endogenous depressives show a significantly reduced growth hormone (HGH) response as compared to neurotic depressive patients and to controls. The HGH response to DMI can be blocked by pretreatment with the alpha-blocker phentolamine (30 and 60 mg i.v.). Therefore we assume that in the DMI test, postsynaptic alpha-receptors are involved, thus giving further evidence for the importance of postsynaptic alpha-receptors in depression.