Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10306536 | Psychoneuroendocrinology | 2009 | 11 Pages |
Abstract
We found increased plasma ACTH and cortisol responses to the dex/CRH test in depressed patients compared with healthy controls, but also significantly (p = .017) attenuated plasma cortisol secretion in the mirtazapine group compared to the group of monoamine reuptake inhibitor treated patients. This effect was not significant in male patients. Furthermore this effect was independent of the psychopathological state, but depended on treatment duration. Patient treatment with mirtazapine for up to 7 days resulted in dex/CRH test outcome that was indistinguishable from controls. This effect, however waned as it was not observable in patients treated for a longer period. These results suggest that short-term administration of mirtazapine has immediate but only transient suppressive effects on the HPA system predominantly in women. Our results confirm that dex/CRH tests can be used as predictors of clinical course also under mirtazapine treatment.
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Authors
Sonja Horstmann, Tatjana Dose, Susanne Lucae, Stefan Kloiber, Andreas Menke, Johannes Hennings, Derek Spieler, Manfred Uhr, Florian Holsboer, Marcus Ising,