Growth hormone secretion during sleep in male depressed patients

1. Growth hormone (GH) secretion during sleep was studied in ten male patients with major depression according to DSM III and eight normal controls. 2. Samples were collected through a continuous blood withdrawal pump while sleep was recorded in the laboratory. 3. The results showed a marked decrease in the GH secretion mainly during the first three hours of sleep in depressed patients as compared to normal controls. DST and TRH tests were also administered to the same patients but no correlation was observed between a positive test and a blunted GH secretion, suggesting that the various neuroendocrinological disturbances do not coexist in all depressed patients. 4. This disturbance in GH secretion during sleep, along with reduced slow wave sleep (SWS), gives support to the theory that GHRH is the common stimulus of SWS and GH release and that the ratio of GHRH and its counterpart CRH plays a major role in the pathophysiology of disturbed endocrine activity during sleep in depression.