Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:334-337
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
5-Hydroxytryptophan-induced cortisol response and CSF 5-HIAA in depressed patients
T Koyama, MT Lowy and HY Meltzer
To determine if the enhanced cortisol response to oral administration of
the serotonin (5-HT) precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) that has been
reported in unmedicated depressed and manic patients might be related to
brain monoaminergic metabolism, the authors assessed correlations between
5-HTP-induced cortisol response and CSF in nine depressed patients. They
found a significant negative correlation with CSF levels of
5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, a 5-HT metabolite, but not with CSF levels of
other monoamine metabolites. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis
that low presynaptic brain serotonergic activity may be related to enhanced
cortisol response to 5-HTP in depressed patients.
