Venlafaxine and mirtazapine treatment lowers serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate in depressed patients remitting during the course of treatment

• Published in: Journal of psychiatric research Vol. 44; no. 8; pp. 556 - 560
• Main Authors: Paslakis, Georgios, Luppa, Peter, Gilles, Maria, Kopf, Daniel, Hamann-Weber, Bettina, Lederbogen, Florian, Deuschle, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Age Factors; Aged; Analysis of Variance; Antidepressant drugs; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Cyclohexanols - therapeutic use; Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate - blood; Depression; Depression - blood; Depression - drug therapy; DHEA-S; Female; HPA axis; Humans; Hydrocortisone - metabolism; Indexing in process; Male; Medical sciences; Mianserin - analogs & derivatives; Mianserin - therapeutic use; Middle Aged; Mirtazapine; Mood disorders; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychiatry; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Remission; Saliva - metabolism; Secondary Prevention; Serum; Sex Factors; Suffering; Venlafaxine; Venlafaxine Hydrochloride; Mirtazapine; Depression; Venlafaxine; Remission; HPA axis; DHEA-S; α2-Adrenergic receptor; Mood disorder; Human; Serotonin; Hypothalamohypophysoadrenal axis; Psychotropic; Phénéthylamine derivatives; Tetracyclic compound; Catecholamine; Reuptake inhibitor; Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; Treatment; Neurotransmitter; Antidepressant agent; Norepinephrine; Antagonist
• ISSN: 0022-3956; 1879-1379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2009.11.015

Abstract Objectives The adrenal androgen dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) seems to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression, although its precise role in the etiology and remission of depression remains unclear. In the present study we intended to examine possible differential effects of venlafaxine and mirtazapine in a randomised open trial with regard to DHEA-S serum concentrations in patients suffering from major depressive episode compared to healthy controls. Methods We assessed DHEA-S concentrations both at baseline and after a 4-week treatment period in 70 depressed patients ( n = 33 for venlafaxine and n = 37 for mirtazapine) and 33 matched healthy controls. Results We describe the decrease of DHEA-S levels in depressive patients who remitted after treatment with both venlafaxine or mirtazapine. Patients without remission of depression did not show a significant decline in DHEA-S concentrations. Conclusions Our results suggest an effect of treatment outcome upon DHEA-S concentrations rather than a direct drug effect. The change of plasma DHEA-S levels as a marker of treatment-response of depression warrant further investigation.