Electroencephalogram and neuroendocrine parameters in pubertal and adolescent depressed children. A case report study

EEG sleep recordings and two provocative neuroendocrinological tests (the DST and the GH stimulation test after desipramine) were investigated in two depressed pubertal monozygotic twin boys with Major Depressive Disorder and compared with results from one normal pubertal control boy and an adolescent girl suffering from major depression. REM latency was reduced in the adolescent depressed girl but not in the pubertal depressed twin children when compared to the normal control. Sleep continuity and sleep architecture were, however, disturbed in pubertal and adolescent depression as a function of severity of the depressive state. The results of the DST showed abnormal cortisol values in the most severely depressed twin and in the depressed adolescent. GH secretion after DMI showed a clear GH response in the less depressed twin and in the normal subject while in the depressed adolescent, the GH response was blunted. The findings suggest that REM latency disturbances in our depressed patients do not appear before adolescence, while neuroendocrine dysfunction can already be present in pubertal depression.