Different reactivity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal-axis in depression and normal controls.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
C Rupprecht
Publications and source records attributed to C Rupprecht.
Effects of glucocorticoids on the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-somatotropic system in depression.
In order to evaluate the possible effect of glucocorticoids as neuromodulators of the hypothalamic-pituitary-somatotropic system in depression, cortisol, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) concentrations were studied before and after oral administration of 1 mg dexamethasone at 11 p.m. in 16 patients during depression and after recovery and in 28 healthy controls. While there were no significant differences in GH and IGF-I levels between depressed, recovered and control subjects, GH and IGF-I concentrations of cortisol non-suppressors were significantly elevated compared to suppressors. Moreover, post-dexamethasone cortisol, GH, and IGF-I levels were positively correlated. Dexamethasone had a stimulating effect on GH and IGF-I values in patients during depression and in cortisol non-suppressors only; this effect was absent in recovered and in control subjects and in cortisol suppressors. Thus, hypercortisolemia may be of great importance for the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-somatotropic system reported in depression.
Adult↗
Thyroid response to dexamethasone: a study on normal controls and patients with psychogenic sexual dysfunction.
Pre- and postdexamethasone triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and TSH levels of thirteen patients with psychogenic sexual dysfunction and thirteen controls were studied. Patients showed lowered T4 levels in comparison with the control group whereas T3 and TSH levels did not differ significantly. Dexamethasone had a suppressive effect on TSH in patients and in controls while T3 levels were suppressed in the control group only. Patients scored significantly higher on the Hamilton Depression Scale than controls. These results compared with results obtained in patients recovered from major depression might point to endocrinological as well as clinical interrelations between psychogenic sexual dysfunction and minor depression.
Adult↗
The cost of rabies postexposure prophylaxis: one state's experience.
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to evaluate trends in the use of rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) before, during, and following an epidemic of raccoon rabies in Massachusetts. METHODS: The authors reviewed initiation of PEP as reported to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) from August 1994 to December 1995 and surveyed hospital pharmacies to determine the number of vials of Human Rabies Immune Globulin (HRIG) dispensed from 1991 through 1995 and charges to patients per vial. RESULTS: PEP use increased dramatically, from 1.7 per 100,000 population in 1991 (pre-epidemic) to 45 per 100,000 in 1995 (after the first stages of the epidemic). The median costs per patient for biologics was $1646 (range: $632-$3435). Including physician and emergency room charges, per-patient median costs were $2376 (range: $1038-$4447). Total health care charges for PEP in Massachusetts in 1995 were estimated at $2.4 million to $6.4 million. CONCLUSIONS: Given the rapid increase in use of PEP, further studies should be undertaken to determine the appropriateness of use, and other alternatives, such as oral wildlife vaccines, should be considered.
Animals↗