Serotonergic responses in depressed patients with or without a history of alcohol use disorders and healthy controls

Dysfunction of serotonergic neurotransmission has been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of major depression (MDD) and alcohol use disorders (AUD). To compare serotonin function in MDD with co-occurring AUD (MDD/AUD), MDD without co-occurring AUD (MDD only) and healthy controls (HC) we sought to study differences in prolactin responses to fenfluramine administration in patients with MDD/AUD, patients with MDD only and HC. In all, 169 subjects (62 MDD/AUD, 75 MDD only, and 32 HC) were entered into the study. Controlling for gender, prolactin responses were lower in the MDD/AUD group compared to the MDD only or the HC group. Controlling for gender and aggression, prolactin responses in the MDD/AUD group remained significantly lower compared to the HC group but the difference between the MDD/AUD and the MDD only groups disappeared. The difference in prolactin responses between MDD/AUD and MDD only could be attributed to higher aggression scores in the MDD/AUD group compared to the MDD group.