Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-17T07:55:22.442Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does the Dexamethasone Suppression Test Predict Antidepressant Treatment Success?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Alec Coppen ,
Philip Milln ,
Janet Harwood  and
Keith Wood
Janet Harwood
Affiliation:
Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was carried out in patients with a major depressive illness in order to establish whether the results of this test, given before antidepressant or ECT treatment, could predict eventual therapeutic outcome. No significant difference could be detected in overall therapeutic improvement between those patients with a normal or abnormal DST response respectively, based on the 50 ng/ml cortisol cut-off point. However, using 100 ng/ml as a cut-off point it was found that patients with an abnormal DST response (i.e. a post-DST plasma cortisol concentration ⩾ 100 ng/ml) responded significantly better than those who had a normal DST response. These observations were statistically significant for those patients receiving antidepressants and in the combined treatment groups of those patients receiving either antidepressants or ECT.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 146 , Issue 3 , March 1985 , pp. 294 - 296
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abou-Saleh, M. T. & Coppen, A. (1983) Classification of depression and response to antidepressive therapies. British Journal of Psychiatry, in press.Google Scholar
Brown, W. A., Johnston, R. & Mayfield, D. (1979) The 24-hour dexamethasone suppression test in a clinical setting: Relationship to diagnosis, symptoms, and response to treatment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 543–547.Google Scholar
Brown, W. A., Johnston, R. & Mayfield, D. & Shuey, I. (1980) Response to dexamethasone and subtype of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 747–751.Google Scholar
Brown, W. A., Johnston, R. & Mayfield, D. & Shuey, I. & Qualls, C. B. (1981) Pituitary – adrenal disinhibition in depression: Marker of a subtype with characteristic clinical features and response to treatment? Psychiatry Research, 4, 115–128.Google Scholar
Carney, M. W. P., Roth, M. & Garside, R. F. (1965) The diagnosis of depressive symptoms and the prediction of ECT response. British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 659–674.Google Scholar
Carroll, B. J. (1982) The dexamethasone suppression test for melancholia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 292–304.Google Scholar
Carroll, B. J., Curtis, G. C. & Mendels, J. (1976) Neuroendocrine regulation in depression. II. Discrimination of depressed from non-depressed patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 1051–1057.Google Scholar
Coppen, A., Abou-Saleh, M., Milln, P., Metcalfe, M., Harwood, J. & Bailey, J. (1983) Dexamethasone suppression test in depression and other psychiatric illness. British Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 498–504.Google Scholar
Hamilton, M. (1967) Development of a rating scale for primary depressive illness. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 6, 278–296.Google Scholar
Nelson, W. H., Orr, W. W., Stevenson, J. M. & Shane, S. R. (1982) Hypothalamic – pituitary – adrenal axis activity and tricyclic response in major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1033–1036.Google Scholar
Rao, V. A. R. & Coppen, A. (1979) Classification of depression and response to amitriptyline treatment. Psychological Medicine, 9, 321–325.Google Scholar
Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J. & Robins, E. (1978) Research diagnostic criteria. Rationale and reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 773–782.Google Scholar
Wood, K., Harwood, J. & Coppen, A. (1983) Dexamethasone suppression test: technique and accuracy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, 585.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.