HPA AXIS FUNCTION, NEUROIMAGING & ESTROGEN AUGMENTATION IN DEPRESSED WOMEN

这是一项多中心合作研究，旨在描述抑郁症患者中发现的两种生物学异常，即HPA轴过度活动和脑中μ阿片受体的变化，以及检查这些异常与治疗反应之间的关系。 该研究还评估了一种治疗抑郁症的新方法，即在抑郁症女性中增加雌激素。 由于治疗研究设计检查雌激素增强的作用，因此需要大量的无应答者。 因此，大约一半的受试者将进入本研究的“仅治疗”部分。 因为抗抑郁药和雌激素都被证明可以调节实验动物的糖皮质激素受体，我们将研究这两种治疗对淋巴细胞受体表达的影响。

This is a multicenter collaborative study that seeks to characterize two biological abnormalities found in depressed patients, that is HPA axis overactivity and changes in mu opioid receptors in brain, in the same patients as well as examine the relationship between these abnormalities and treatment response. The study is also evaluating a novel treatment for depression, estrogen augmentation in depressed women. Because the treatment study design examines the role of estrogen augmentation, a large number of non-responders are necessary. Thus approximately half the subjects will enter a "treatment only" portion of this study. Because both antidepressants and estrogen have been demonstrated to regulate glucocorticoid receptors in experimental animals, we will examine the effects of these two treatments of receptor expression in lymphocytes.