Szigethy E, Conwell Y, Forbes N T, Cox C, Caine E D
University of Rochester School of Medicine, NY.
Biol Psychiatry. 1994 Sep 15;36(6):374-80. doi: 10.1016/0006-3223(94)91212-2.
Several lines of evidence have implicated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction in major depression and suicidal behavior. In the present study, the weight and morphology of postmortem adrenal glands were compared between suicide victims and sudden death, nonpsychiatric controls. The mean adrenal weight of the combined left and right glands was significantly higher in the suicide group; this difference was accounted for specifically by increases in left adrenal weight of suicides compared with the control group. There was a positive correlation between adrenal weight and total cortical thickness in both left and right glands, providing direct evidence that increased adrenal weight in suicide victims is due to cortical hypertrophy. The finding of left-right adrenal weight asymmetry in suicides is consistent with the hypothesis of abnormal lateralized input from higher control centers of the HPA axis.
多条证据表明，下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）轴功能障碍与重度抑郁症及自杀行为有关。在本研究中，对自杀受害者与猝死的非精神科对照者的死后肾上腺重量及形态进行了比较。自杀组左右肾上腺合并后的平均重量显著更高；与对照组相比，自杀者左侧肾上腺重量增加是造成这种差异的具体原因。左右肾上腺的重量与皮质总厚度之间均呈正相关，这直接证明了自杀受害者肾上腺重量增加是由于皮质肥大。自杀者左右肾上腺重量不对称这一发现与HPA轴高级控制中心异常的侧向输入假说相符。
