Assessment of HPA-axis function in posttraumatic stress disorder: Pharmacological and non-pharmacological challenge tests, a review

American Psychiatric Association (APA). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.

Atmaca, 2002, Neopterin levels and dexamethasone suppression test in posttraumatic stress disorder, European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 252, 161, 10.1007/s00406-002-0374-5

Baker, 1999, Serial CSF corticotropin-releasing hormone levels and adrenocortical activity in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder, American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 585, 10.1176/ajp.156.4.585

Berdusco, 1995, Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) production by hepatic and extra-hepatic sites in the ovine fetus; effects of CBG on glucocorticoid negative feedback on pituitary cells in vitro, Journal of Endocrinology, 146, 121, 10.1677/joe.0.1460121

Besedovsky, 2000, The cytokine-HPA axis feed-back circuit, Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie, 59, 26, 10.1007/s003930070014

Boscarino, 2004, Posttraumatic stress disorder and physical illness: results from clinical and epidemiologic studies, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1032, 141, 10.1196/annals.1314.011

Bremner, 1996, Noradrenergic mechanisms in stress and anxiety: I. Preclinical studies, Synapse, 23, 28, 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2396(199605)23:1<28::AID-SYN4>3.0.CO;2-J

Bremner, 1997, Elevated CSF corticotropin-releasing factor concentrations in posttraumatic stress disorder, American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 624, 10.1176/ajp.154.5.624

Bremner, 2003, Assessment of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis over a 24-hour diurnal period and in response to neuroendocrine challenges in women with and without childhood sexual abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 54, 710, 10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01912-1

Bremner, 2003, Cortisol response to a cognitive stress challenge in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to childhood abuse, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 28, 733, 10.1016/S0306-4530(02)00067-7

Breuner, 2002, Plasma binding proteins as mediators of corticosteroid action in vertebrates, Journal of Endocrinology, 175, 99, 10.1677/joe.0.1750099

Carroll, 1976, Neuroendocrine identification of depressed patients, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 10, 13, 10.3109/00048677609159480

Carroll, 1980, Diagnosis of endogenous depression. Comparison of clinical, research and neuroendocrine criteria, Journal of Affective Disorders, 2, 177, 10.1016/0165-0327(80)90004-X

De Kloet, 1998, Brain corticosteroid receptor balance in health and disease, Endocrine Reviews, 19, 269, 10.1210/er.19.3.269

del Rey, 2000, The cytokine-HPA axis circuit contributes to prevent or moderate autoimmune processes, Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie, 59, 31, 10.1007/s003930070015

Elzinga, 2003, Higher cortisol levels following exposure to traumatic reminders in abuse-related PTSD, Neuropsychopharmacology, 28, 1656, 10.1038/sj.npp.1300226

Engelhard, 2001, Emotion- and intrusion-based reasoning in Vietnam veterans with and without chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 1339, 10.1016/S0005-7967(00)00101-7

Gispen-de Wied, 1993, Inhibition of the pituitary–adrenal axis with dexamethasone and cortisol in depressed patients and healthy subjects: a dose–response study, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 18, 191, 10.1016/0306-4530(93)90004-5

Glover, 2002, Urinary cortisol and catecholamines in mothers of child cancer survivors with and without PTSD, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 27, 805, 10.1016/S0306-4530(01)00081-6

Goenjian, 1996, Basal cortisol, dexamethasone suppression of cortisol, and MHPG in adolescents after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 929, 10.1176/ajp.153.7.929

Gotovac, 2003, Flow cytometric determination of glucocorticoid receptor (GCR) expression in lymphocyte subpopulations: lower quantity of GCR in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 131, 335, 10.1046/j.1365-2249.2003.02075.x

Grossman, 2003, Dexamethasone suppression test findings in subjects with personality disorders: associations with posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression, American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1291, 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.7.1291

Halbreich, 1989, Hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal activity in endogenously depressed post-traumatic stress disorder patients, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 14, 365, 10.1016/0306-4530(89)90006-1

Hockings, 1993, Hypersensitivity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis to naloxone in post-traumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 33, 585, 10.1016/0006-3223(93)90096-V

Holsboer, 2000, The corticosteroid receptor hypothesis of depression, Neuropsychopharmacology, 23, 477, 10.1016/S0893-133X(00)00159-7

Holsboer, 1987, Serial assessment of corticotropin-releasing hormone response after dexamethasone in depression. Implications for pathophysiology of DST nonsuppression, Biological Psychiatry, 22, 228, 10.1016/0006-3223(87)90237-X

Kang, 2003, Post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome-like illness among Gulf War veterans: a population-based survey of 30,000 veterans, American Journal of Epidemiology, 157, 141, 10.1093/aje/kwf187

Kanter, 2001, Glucocorticoid feedback sensitivity and adrenocortical responsiveness in posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 50, 238, 10.1016/S0006-3223(01)01158-1

Kellner, 2003, Endocrine and cardiovascular responses to corticotropin-releasing hormone in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: a role for atrial natriuretic peptide, Neuropsychobiology, 47, 102, 10.1159/000070018

Kellner, 2004, Overnight metyrapone and combined dexamethasone/metyrapone tests in post-traumatic stress disorder: preliminary findings, European Neuropsychopharmacology, 14, 337, 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2003.11.002

Kosten, 1990, The dexamethasone suppression test and thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test in posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 28, 657, 10.1016/0006-3223(90)90452-8

Kudler, 1987, The DST and posttraumatic stress disorder, American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 1068, 10.1176/ajp.144.8.1068

Lemieux, 1995, Abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder: evidence for chronic neuroendocrine activation in women, Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 105, 10.1097/00006842-199503000-00002

Liberzon, 1999, Neuroendocrine and psychophysiologic responses in PTSD: a symptom provocation study, Neuropsychopharmacology, 21, 40, 10.1016/S0893-133X(98)00128-6

Lindley, 2004, Basal and dexamethasone suppressed salivary cortisol concentrations in a community sample of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 55, 940, 10.1016/j.biopsych.2003.12.021

Maes, 1998, Increased 24-hour urinary cortisol excretion in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and patients with major depression, but not in patients with fibromyalgia, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 98, 328, 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1998.tb10092.x

Mason, 1986, Urinary free-cortisol levels in posttraumatic stress disorder patients, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 174, 145, 10.1097/00005053-198603000-00003

McClennen, 1998, Regulation of pituitary corticotropin-releasing hormone-binding protein messenger ribonucleic acid levels by restraint stress and adrenalectomy, Endocrinology, 139, 4435, 10.1210/en.139.11.4435

McEwen, 1979, Influences of adrenocortical hormones on pituitary and brain function, Monographs in Endocrinology, 12, 467, 10.1007/978-3-642-81265-1_25

Miller, 1998, Glucocorticoid receptors are differentially expressed in the cells and tissues of the immune system, Cell Immunology, 186, 45, 10.1006/cimm.1998.1293

Miller, 2001, C-reactive protein and interleukin 6 receptor in post-traumatic stress disorder: a pilot study, Cytokine, 13, 253, 10.1006/cyto.2000.0825

Newport, 2004, Pituitary–adrenal responses to standard and low-dose dexamethasone suppression tests in adult survivors of child abuse, Biological Psychiatry, 55, 10, 10.1016/S0006-3223(03)00692-9

Neylan, 2003, Delta sleep response to metyrapone in post-traumatic stress disorder, Neuropsychopharmacology, 28, 1666, 10.1038/sj.npp.1300215

Pitman, 1990, Twenty-four hour urinary cortisol and catecholamine excretion in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 27, 245, 10.1016/0006-3223(90)90654-K

Raison, 2003, When not enough is too much: the role of insufficient glucocorticoid signaling in the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders, American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1554, 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.9.1554

Rasmusson, 2001, Increased pituitary and adrenal reactivity in premenopausal women with posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 50, 965, 10.1016/S0006-3223(01)01264-1

Reist, 1995, REM latency, dexamethasone suppression test, and thyroid releasing hormone stimulation test in posttraumatic stress disorder, Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 19, 433, 10.1016/0278-5846(95)00024-P

Rinne, 2002, Hyperresponsiveness of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis to combined dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone challenge in female borderline personality disorder subjects with a history of sustained childhood abuse, Biological Psychiatry, 52, 1102, 10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01395-1

Rohleder, 2004, Hypocortisolism and increased glucocorticoid sensitivity of pro-inflammatory cytokine production in Bosnian war refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 55, 745, 10.1016/j.biopsych.2003.11.018

Sapolsky, 1990, Glucocorticoid feedback inhibition of adrenocorticotropic hormone secretagogue release. Relationship to corticosteroid receptor occupancy in various limbic sites, Neuroendocrinology, 51, 328, 10.1159/000125357

Smith, 1989, The corticotropin-releasing hormone test in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 26, 349, 10.1016/0006-3223(89)90050-4

Stein, 1997, Enhanced dexamethasone suppression of plasma cortisol in adult women traumatized by childhood sexual abuse, Biological Psychiatry, 42, 680, 10.1016/S0006-3223(96)00489-1

Suda, 1990, Glucocorticoids decrease a binding of corticotropin-releasing hormone-binding protein in human plasma, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 71, 913, 10.1210/jcem-71-4-913

Thaller, 1999, The potential role of hypocortisolism in the pathophysiology of PTSD and psoriasis, Collegium Antropologicum, 23, 611

Vermetten, 2002, Circuits and systems in stress. I. Preclinical studies, Depress Anxiety, 15, 126, 10.1002/da.10016

Vythilingam, 2000, Cerebrospinal fluid corticotropin-releasing hormone in healthy humans: effects of yohimbine and naloxone, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 85, 4138, 10.1210/jc.85.11.4138

Wong, 2002, Post-traumatic stress disorder: advances in psychoneuroimmunology, Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25, 369, 10.1016/S0193-953X(01)00006-5

Yehuda, 1990, Low urinary cortisol excretion in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 178, 366, 10.1097/00005053-199006000-00004

Yehuda, 1991, Lymphocyte glucocorticoid receptor number in posttraumatic stress disorder, American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 499, 10.1176/ajp.148.4.499

Yehuda, 1993, Enhanced suppression of cortisol following dexamethasone administration in posttraumatic stress disorder, American Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 83, 10.1176/ajp.150.1.83

Yehuda, 1994, Circadian regulation of basal cortisol levels in posttraumatic stress disorder, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 746, 378, 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1994.tb39260.x

Yehuda, 1995, Dose–response changes in plasma cortisol and lymphocyte glucocorticoid receptors following dexamethasone administration in combat veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder, Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 583, 10.1001/archpsyc.1995.03950190065010

Yehuda, 1995, Low urinary cortisol excretion in Holocaust survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder, American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 982, 10.1176/ajp.152.7.982

Yehuda, 1996, Increased pituitary activation following metyrapone administration in post-traumatic stress disorder, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 21, 1, 10.1016/0306-4530(95)00055-0

Yehuda, 2002, The cortisol and glucocorticoid receptor response to low dose dexamethasone administration in aging combat veterans and holocaust survivors with and without posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 52, 393, 10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01357-4

Yehuda, 2004, The ACTH response to dexamethasone in PTSD, American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1397, 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.8.1397

Yehuda, 2004, Enhanced sensitivity to glucocorticoids in peripheral mononuclear leukocytes in posttraumatic stress disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 55, 1110, 10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.02.010

Yehuda, 2004, Effects of trauma exposure on the cortisol response to dexamethasone administration in PTSD and major depressive disorder, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29, 389, 10.1016/S0306-4530(03)00052-0