Blunted Corticotropin and Normal Cortisol Response to Human Corticotropin-Releasing Factor in Depression

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Abstract
To the Editor: The recent availability of the newly sequenced human corticotropin-releasing factor holds promise in furthering the understanding of the pathophysiology underlying hypercortisolism linked to depression.1 Current research suggests that corticotropin-releasing factor is not only a key hormone in the regulation of corticotropin but may also act in the brain to initiate a variety of physiologic responses characteristic for stress.2 We have compared the secretory patterns of cortisol with the corticotropin and Cortisol responses to human corticotropin-releasing factor in 12 unmedicated patients (aged 36 to 69) with a major depressive disorder (primary and endogenous) and 9 healthy controls (aged . . .