Citation

Westrin A, Ekman R, Träskman-Bendz L. Biol. Psychiatry 1998; 43(10): 734-739.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lund University, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0006-3223(97)00254-0

PMID

9606527

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) supposedly involves the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Previous studies have shown deviated plasma DSIP-like immunoreactivity (DSIP-LI) levels, as well as abnormal DSIP-LI responses to corticotropin-releasing hormone in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study was performed to investigate plasma-DSIP-LI and its association with the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) in suicide attempters. METHODS: Plasma-DSIP and serum cortisol were measured before and after dexamethasone intake in 34 suicide attempters and in healthy age- and sex-matched controls. RESULTS: We found significantly elevated DSIP-LI levels in MDD patients (p < .005), and a significant correlation between predexamethasone cortisol and predexamethasone DSIP-LI levels in healthy controls. Postdexamethasone DSIP-LI levels increased in subjects with low predexamethasone DSIP-LI levels, whereas they decreased in subjects with high predexamethasone DSIP-LI levels. CONCLUSIONS: Results give some support to the theory of glucocorticoid involvement in the regulation of DSIP, and suggest altered DSIP-LI levels in suicidal MDD patients.

Language: en