Original articleGlucocorticoids and Relapse of Major Depression (Dexamethasone/Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Test in Relation to Relapse of Major Depression)
Section snippets
Methods and Materials
This study was carried out between February and May 2003 at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. The study protocol was approved by the institutional ethics review committee, and all participants gave written informed consent.
Results
Of 47 unipolar depressed patients who had responded favorably to 8 weeks of outpatient treatment, 45 were available for follow-up. Of these 45 remitted patients, 23 (51%) had no relapse during the follow-up period, whereas 22 (49%) relapsed. Thirteen of these patients relapsed within the first 6 months after treatment. There were no differences between the relapsed and nonrelapsed groups with respect to the duration of follow-up, gender, age, T3 addition during treatment, or HRSD score after
Discussion
In this study we have investigated the relationship between posttreatment DEX/CRH test parameters and the occurrence of relapse in a population of outpatients with clinically remitted major depression after a mean follow-up of 22 months. Previously, only two small studies in a population of inpatients with a 6-month follow-up reported that higher HPA axis activity on the posttreatment DEX/CRH test predicted relapse (Zobel et al 1999, Zobel et al 2001).
First of all, the results of our study
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