Journal
NEUROBIOLOGY OF DISEASE
Volume 34, Issue 3, Pages 457-461Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2009.02.018
Keywords
Epilepsy; Depression; Co-morbidity; Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis; Chronic stress
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Funding
- National Institutes of Health [NS059505, NS046516]
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Depression is frequently reported in epilepsy patients; however, mechanisms of co-morbidity between epilepsy and depression are poorly understood. An important mechanism of depression is disinhibition within the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. We examined the functional state of the HPA axis in a rat model of co-morbidity between temporal lobe epilepsy and depression. Epilepsy was accompanied by the interictal elevation of plasma corticosterone, and by the positively combined dexamethasone/corticotropin releasing hormone test. The extent of the HPA hyperactivity was independent of recurrent seizures, but positively correlated with the severity of depressive behavior. We suggest that the observed hyperactivity of the HPA axis may underlie co-morbidity between epilepsy and depression. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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