Urinary free cortisol excretion in endogenously depressed and schizophrenic patients

In 8 endogenously depressed and 9 schizophrenic patients, the excretion of urinary free cortisol was measured. The endogenous depressives exhibited a significantly (p less than 0.01) higher excretion of free cortisol (X = 122 microgram/24 h or X = 68 microgram/24 h) when compared to schizophrenics. This finding, earlier reported by others, suggests a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activation in endogenously depressed patients.