Results of a study of glucocorticoid receptors in lymphocytes of patients with endogenous depression

Increased plasma cortisol levels are found not only in patients with Cushing disease but also in patients suffering from endogenous depression. Because patients with endogenous depression fail to show any clinical signs of Cushing disease, it is supposed that the cells of these patients are relatively resistant to increased glucocorticoid levels. To test this hypothesis 20 patients with endogenous depression and 20 healthy controls were examined for plasma cortisol level and modulation of mitogen induced lymphocyte transformation by glucocorticoids. Results point to a relative resistance of patient's T-lymphocyte transformation to the inhibitory effect of glucocorticoids when compared with controls.