Growth Hormone Responses to L-Dopa in Depressed Patients
- 22 December 1972
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 178 (4067) , 1304-1305
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.178.4067.1304
Abstract
Plasma human growth hormone responses to oral administration of 500 milligrams of L-dopa were analyzed in three groups of subjects: normals, age 20 to 32; normals, age 48 to 68; and unipolar depressed patients, age 45 to 68. While only 7 percent of the young normals had deficient human growth hormone responses to this stimulus, 36 percent of the older normals and 77 percent of the depressed patients failed to have adequate responses, suggesting an effect of age and a further effect of depressive illness. Because the release of human growth hormone appears to be closely related to brain catecholamine metabolism, the deficient responses in the depressed patients may provide further support to the concept of a neurochemical defect in depressive illness.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- Disrupted 24-hour Patterns of Cortisol Secretion in Psychotic DepressionArchives of General Psychiatry, 1973
- The Effect of l -Dopa on Plasma Growth Hormone, Insulin, and ThyroxineJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1972
- Growth Hormone Responses in Depressive IllnessArchives of General Psychiatry, 1971
- Relation of Sex and Aging to Monoamine Oxidase Activity of Human Brain, Plasma, and PlateletsArchives of General Psychiatry, 1971
- Stimulation of Human-Growth-Hormone Secretion by L-DopaNew England Journal of Medicine, 1970
- Theories of Biological Etiology of Affective DisordersPublished by Elsevier ,1970
- Adrenergic receptor control mechanism for growth hormone secretionJournal of Clinical Investigation, 1968
- Emotional Deprivation and Growth Retardation Simulating Idiopathic HypopituitarismNew England Journal of Medicine, 1967
- Effect of various blood sampling procedures on serum levels of immunoreactive human growth hormoneMetabolism, 1967
- Blockade of Release of Growth Hormone by Brain Norepinephrine DepletorsEndocrinology, 1967