Effect of fluoxetine on dexamethasone-induced growth hormone release in depression: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Abstract

The authors' objective was to characterize the effects of fluoxetine treatment on dexamethasone-induced growth hormone (GH) responses in depressed patients. Twelve patients (six women and six men) with major depression diagnosed according to DSM-III-R underwent dexamethasone-induced GH stimulation before and after random assignment to 4 weeks of treatment with either placebo (N = 6) or fluoxetine (N = 6). All six patients treated with fluoxetine and two of the six patients given placebo demonstrated an increase in their dexamethasone-induced GH responses. Clinical recovery was associated with an increase in GH release in response to dexamethasone.