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Neuropeptide Concentrations in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Depressed Patients Treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy

Corticotrophin-Releasing Factor, β-endorphin and Somatostatin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Charles B. Nemeroff ,
Garth Bissette ,
Huda Akil  and
Max Fink
Charles B. Nemeroff*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Pharmacology
Garth Bissette
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710
Huda Akil
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Max Fink
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11780, USA
*
∗Box 3859, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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Abstract

The CSF concentrations of CRF, somatostatin and β-endorphin were determined in nine patients who fulfilled DSM–III criteria for major depression with psychotic features. CSF samples were obtained at baseline in the depressed state, and again after a course of ECT. Concentrations of both CRF and β-endorphin decreased after ECT, while the concentration of somatostatin increased, although the latter difference did not attain statistical significance. The increase in CSF concentrations of CRF and β-endorphin in depressed patients is therefore seen to be state-dependent.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 158 , Issue 1 , January 1991 , pp. 59 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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