Psychoendocrinological and therapeutic effects of TRH in depression

Abstract

The antidepressive efficacy of TRH [thyrotropin releasing hormone] was investigated in 15 endogenous depressive patients in a double-blind cross-over design. The Hamilton Depression Scale, the AMP [Work-Study Group for Methods and Documentation in Psychiatry] (PAS) [Personality Assessment] system, von Zerssen scale and thermometer scales were used. No therapeutic effect could be demonstrated. The blunted TSH[thyroid stimulating/hormone]-response to TRH was confirmed. There was suggestive evidence of a psychoendocrinological relationship in the sense that the more severe the somatic depressive syndrome as calculated from the AMP system and the more marked the diurnal variation of the endogenous type is, the lower are the basal TSH-values and the smaller the response to TRH. TRH may become a useful tool to identify subgroups of depressive patient populations.