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Biomedical subjects

G E Hunt

Publications and source records attributed to G E Hunt.

58 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Plasma dexamethasone and the dexamethasone suppression test. Initial and follow-up tests in depressed patients.

Plasma dexamethasone concentrations following oral dexamethasone administration were examined in 78 patients with major depression prior to and during treatment. The test-retest stability of plasma dexamethasone levels within patients was satisfactory with an overall significant positive correlation between tests for each patient. However, significant variability was noted in individual patients. Change in pre-DST cortisol and plasma dexamethasone levels were the two variables, in that order of importance, contributing to change in DST status. In studies examining the clinical utility of serial dexamethasone suppression tests as a guide to recovery from depression, the effect of variability in plasma dexamethasone concentrations should be taken into account.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of age on cortisol and plasma dexamethasone concentrations in depressed patients and controls.

The aim of this study was to identify any relationships between various patient factors such as age, gender and concurrent medication that may affect plasma cortisol or dexamethasone (DEX) concentrations. Multiple regression analysis was used to formulate an equation to predict plasma DEX levels to identify factors that may influence DEX bioavailability. Pre- and post-DST cortisol levels did not increase with age, but DEX levels were higher in elderly depressed patients. Neither gender nor psychotropic medication affected plasma cortisol or DEX levels. There was no indication that pre-DST cortisol levels influenced plasma DEX levels to account for the lower DEX values in non-suppressors. Age was the only significant factor found in this study to influence DEX levels and it could be argued that the dose of DEX should be lowered when administering the DST to elderly patients to reduce plasma DEX variability.

Adult↗