Nocturnal secretion of TSH and ACTH in male patients with depression and healthy controls

• Published in: Journal of psychiatric research Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. 189 - 196
• Main Authors: Peteranderl, Christian, Antonijevic, Irina A, Steiger, Axel, Murck, Harald, Held, Katja, Frieboes, Ralf-Michael, Uhr, Martin, Schaaf, Ludwig
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: ACTH; Adrenal axis; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone - secretion; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Affective disorder; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Circadian Rhythm; Depression; Depression - physiopathology; Electroencephalography; Humans; Hydrocortisone - secretion; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - physiology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; Pituitary-Adrenal System - physiology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Sleep; Sleep - physiology; Thyroid axis; Thyrotropin - secretion; TSH; Adrenal axis; Affective disorder; TSH; ACTH; Sleep; Thyroid axis; Mood disorder; Human; Pathophysiology; Hypothalamohypophysoadrenal axis; Steroid hormone; Hypothalamohypophysothyroidal axis; Central nervous system; Electrophysiology; Depression; Male; Electroencephalography; Experimental study; Hydrocortisone; Glucocorticoid; Endocrine secretion; Electrodiagnosis; Adrenocorticotropic hormone; Adrenal hormone; Thyrotrophin; Comparative study; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0022-3956; 1879-1379
• DOI: 10.1016/S0022-3956(02)00004-3

Profound alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) systems at the hypophyseal level have been described in affective disorder. To precisely characterize the basal alterations of both axes during sleep, we simultaneously investigated sleep EEG and the secretion of thyrotropin, ACTH and cortisol in nine drug-free male patients with depression in comparison to 10 healthy age and sex matched controls. In depressed patients the nearly diametrical nocturnal secretion of thyrotropin and ACTH was disturbed by significantly blunted thyrotropin values (TSH AUC 51.96±5.68 vs. 87.23±13.63,
P<0.05) and elevated ACTH values (ACTH AUC 1804±161 vs. 1538±130,
P<0.05) compared to controls. Moreover, cross correlation analysis revealed a highly negative association of 0 lag between thyrotropin and ACTH and between thyrotropin and cortisol in the control sample, indicating a physiological nocturnal negative correlation of HPT and HPA system. In the patients sample these associations were weak and reached not statistical significance. Therefore, as a descriptive tool, the ratio TSH/ACTH revealed a significant group difference between controls and patients in the first half of the night (TSH/ACTH AUC 6.50±0.42 vs. 3.35±0.31,
P<0.05). Sleep-EEG analysis showed a shortened REM latency, a decrease of stage 2 and an increase of awake time in the patients. Our data support the hypothesis that both hypophyseal hormones reflect a common dysregulation of both systems in depression probably due to impaired action of TRH-related corticotropin-release-inhibiting-factor (CRIF). The ratio TSH/ACTH might be a tool to characterize alterations of both the HPT and HPA axis in depression during the first half of the night.