NEUROENDOCRINE FACATORS IN ADOLESCENT DEPRESSION

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The doubling of the prevalence of major depressive disorders (MDD) during the pubertal vs. the pre-teen years and a gender specific pubertal increase in MDD prevalence with more adolescent girls than boys developing MDD, suggests that subtle alterations in normal pubertal events may predict risk of developing MDD. Important changes occurring at puberty include the maturation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis (H-P-G axis), in which appetite regulating peptides ghrelin, leptin and peptide YY (PYY) may play a role. PYY levels have not been examined in MDD, and their relationship to appetite and bone turnover in MDD is unknown. In this study we aim to compare secretory dynamics of ghrelin and leptin in adolescent boys and girls with MDD vs. healthy adolescent boys and girls in relation to cortisol and LH secretion to determine whether MDD onset is associated with specific changes in secretory patterns. We will also determine PYY levels in different groups in relation to appetite and bone metabolism. Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on PYY levels and on secretory dynamics of ghrelin, leptin, cortisol, and LH will be examined to determine whether improvement in depressive symptoms is associated with restoration of neuroendocrine parameters to normal.