Reduced Corticotropin Releasing Factor Binding Sites in the Frontal Cortex of Suicide Victims
Abstract
Previous studies have provided evidence that corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) is hypersecreted in patients with major depression. This CRF hypersecretion is believed to contribute at least in part to hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in depressed patients. If CRF is chronically hypersecreted in depressed patients, then, due to down-regulation, a reduced number of CRF receptor binding sites should be present in patients with profound depressive disorder. To test this hypothesis, we measured the number and affinity of CRF binding sites in the frontal cortex of 26 suicide victims and 29 controls who died of a variety of causes. There was a marked (23%) reduction in the number of CRF binding sites in the frontal cortex of the suicide victims compared with the controls. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that CRF is hypersecreted in depression.
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CRF1 receptors/binding sites are reduced in postmortem brains from suicide victims, many of whom had a history of depression.
“CRF1 receptors/binding sites are reduced in postmortem brains from suicide victims, many of whom showed a history of depression.52,53”
From Early life adversity and the epigenetic programming of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function (2014) · cites this paper as [53]
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- Authors
- Nemeroff, C. B.
- Affiliations
- Duke Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Nemeroff, Charles B.
- ORCID
- Nemeroff, Charles B.
- Venue
- Archives of General Psychiatry
- Publisher
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Published
- 1988-06-01
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 577
- ISSN
- 0003-990X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2087334617
- Cited by
- 555
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 7.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Archives of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Keywords
- corticotropin-releasing factor, frontal cortex, suicide, major depressive disorder, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, receptor down-regulation, postmortem brain
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Depressive Disorder, Female, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Male, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Suicide, Receptors, Neurotransmitter, Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
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