Original articleReduced Glucocorticoid Receptor α Expression in Mood Disorder Patients and First-Degree Relatives
Section snippets
Subjects
Major depressive and bipolar disorder patients were diagnosed according to the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association 1994). These included both outpatients and inpatients of the Division of Neuropsychiatry of the Yamaguchi University Hospital. The extent of depressive state was assessed by a 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Subjects were regarded as under a current depressive state when
Results
The mean ages were not significantly different between major depressive disorder patients, bipolar disorder patients, and normal control subjects (F = 1.95, df = 4,131, p = .106) (Table 2). Regarding the gender distribution, bipolar disorder patients showed a larger ratio of female to male (Χ2 = 12.7, df = 4, p = .013). Levels of plasma cortisol did not differ between major depressive disorder patients, bipolar disorder patients, and normal control subjects (F = .92, df = 4,58, p = .456).
Discussion
In this study, we demonstrated that GRα mRNA level reduction occurs in peripheral blood cells of individuals with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, in both a depressive state as well as in remission. Reduced GRα mRNA expression was also shown in first-degree relatives of bipolar disorder patients but not in those of major depressive disorder patients. Based on these and previous findings that GRα mRNA reduction occurred in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala of mood
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