Plasma leptin in men and women with seasonal affective disorder and in healthy matched controls.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a specific clinical entity characterized by recurrent episodes of depression, which typically occur during the winter with periods of remission during the spring and summer. These depression episodes are accompanied by hyperphagia with cravings for carbohydrates and moderate weight gain, and usually respond to light therapy. We examined potential relationships between leptin, a hormone known to affect appetite and weight regulation, and seasonal changes in mood and appetite by measuring plasma leptin, clinical severity of depression, appetite scores, and body mass index (BMI) in 19 women and 8 men with SAD and matched controls (20 women and 8 men) in the summer and winter.

Cortisol response to ovine corticotropin-releasing hormone in a model of pregnancy and parturition in euthymic women with and without a history of postpartum depression.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis abnormalities have been reported in depressed women and those with postpartum blues, compared with nondepressed women. We investigated the effect of gonadal steroids on the hormonal response to ovine CRH in women with (n = 5) and without (n = 7) a past history of postpartum depression (PPD) by creating an endocrine model of pregnancy and the postpartum. Ovine CRH (1 microg/kg) stimulation tests were performed in the baseline follicular phase, during hormone add-back (leuprolide acetate plus supraphysiologic doses of estradiol and progesterone-mimicking pregnancy), and after precipitous withdrawal of hormone replacement (mimicking the puerperium).

Using an interleukin-6 challenge to evaluate neuropsychological performance in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Background: Individuals with acute infections experience a range of symptoms including fatigue, malaise, muscle aches, and difficulties with concentration and memory that are usually self-limited. This cluster of symptoms is otherwise, similar to those that characterize chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The goal of the present study was to evaluate the cognitive and psychological functioning of CFS patients and normal controls (NCs) when they both were experiencing acute influenza-like symptoms.

Circulating plasma leptin and IGF-1 levels in girls with premature adrenarche: potential implications of a preliminary study.

Premature adrenarche is a condition characterized by precocious development of pubic and/or axillary hair, due to early onset of adrenal androgen secretion. Girls with premature adrenarche may later develop menstrual irregularities, hyperandrogenism, and the classic polycystic ovary syndrome. As leptin is thought to modulate the onset of pubertal development, we measured plasma leptin levels in 7 girls with premature adrenarche, and 8 age-matched comparison girls.

Responses of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to interleukin-6: a pilot study in fibromyalgia.

Objective: To determine whether deficient activity of the hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neuron, which stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the central control nuclei of the sympathetic nervous system and inhibits ascending pain pathways, may be pathogenic in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: We administered interleukin-6 (IL-6; 3 microg/kg of body weight subcutaneously), a cytokine capable of stimulating hypothalamic CRH release, and measured plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, and catecholamines and their metabolites and precursors. Thirteen female FM patients and 8 age- and body mass index-matched female controls were studied.