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Plasma N-POMC, ACTH and Cortisol Concentrations in a Psychogeriatric Population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

A. Leake ,
B. G. Charlton ,
P. J. Lowry ,
S. Jackson ,
A. Fairbairn  and
I. N. Ferrier
A. Leake*
Affiliation:
MRC Neurochemical Pathology Unit, Newcastle General Hospital
B. G. Charlton
Affiliation:
MRC Neurochemical Pathology Unit, Newcastle General Hospital
P. J. Lowry
Affiliation:
University of Reading
S. Jackson
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Reading
A. Fairbairn
Affiliation:
St Nicholas Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne
I. N. Ferrier
Affiliation:
MRC Neurochemical Pathology Unit, Newcastle General Hospital
*
∗MRC Neurochemical Pathology Unit, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE
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Abstract

Elderly patients with depression and Alzheimer-type dementia (ATD) were compared with age-matched control subjects using a protocol which measured Cortisol, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and N-terminal pro-opiomelanocortin (N-POMC) to determine diurnal variation and the effect of dexamethasone administration. Depressed patients had significantly elevated Cortisol concentrations both before and after dexamethasone administration. Basal ACTH and N-POMC concentrations were normal in depressed patients but were both elevated, compared with controls, after dexamethasone. By contrast, in ATD patients, Cortisol was elevated only after dexamethasone, as was ACTH, but not N-POMC. This may imply that the pattern of secretion of POMC-derived peptides underlying increased Cortisol secretion is different in ATD from that in depression.

Type
Lecture
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 156 , Issue 5 , May 1990 , pp. 676 - 679
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1990 

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