Source: Neuropsychopharmacology  |  Posted 8 years ago

Neuroactive steroid concentrations are unaffected by partial sleep deprivation in patients who have major depression, say German researchers.

Previous studies at both the clinical and pre-clinical levels had shown that neuroactive steroids were altered in depression, but reverted to normal following antidepressant pharmacotherapy. However, there were no data recording the effects of sleep deprivation on these steroid concentrations.

Researchers at Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University enrolled 29 drug-free patients, comprising 12 men and 17 women diagnosed with major depression, using the DSM-1V criteria, to undergo partial sleep deprivation. The response to partial sleep deprivation was defined by researchers as a reduction of at least 30 % according to the 6-item version of the Hamilton depression scale.

Plasma samples were collected at 8 am the day prior to, and after partial sleep deprivation (days 0 and 1), and following one night of recovery sleep (day 2). Samples were quantified for neuroactive steroids using a highly sensitive and specific combined gas chromatography /mass spectrometry analysis.

Results revealed that concentrations of neuroactive steroids were uninfluenced by partial sleep deprivation in either the 20 PSD responders or the nine non-responders. There were, however, considerably higher concentrations of 3alpha, 5alpha-tetrahydroprogesterone (3alpha, 5alpha-THP), 3alpha, 5beta-tetrahydroprogesterone (3alpha, 5beta-THP) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHE) in non-responders both before and after partial sleep deprivation by comparison to the responders.