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0269881106067330v1
21/4/414    most recent
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This version was published on June 1, 2007
Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 21, No. 4, 414-420 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0269881106067330

The resistance to depressive relapse in menopausal women undergoing tryptophan depletion: preliminary findings

C. Neill Epperson

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Neill.Epperson{at}yaLe.edu, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

Zenab Amin

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

Frederick Naftolin

Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

Angela Cappiello

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

Kathryn A. Czarkowski

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

Stephanie Stiklus

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

George M. Anderson

Yale University Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

John H. Krystal

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

Changes in neuroendocrine function may predispose menopausal women to psychological disturbances characterized by depressed mood, anxiety, irritability, fatigue, insomnia, forgetfulness and decline in Libido. The acute tryptophan depletion paradigm was employed to examine the serotonergic contribution to mood and cognitive function in menopausal women who were within 4 weeks of recovery from an episode of major depression. MenopausaL women whose depression was responsive to treatment with oestradiol, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine, or a combination of both treatments underwent assessment of mood and verbal memory on active tryptophan depLetion and sham depLetion test days. Although performance on the deLayed paragraph recall subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale was impaired by tryptophan depletion, no subjects experienced a relapse of depression or a significant worsening of mood. Results from this pilot study indicate that menopausal women who have recently recovered from a major depressive episode do not experience a worsening of mood with acute tryptophan depletion, despite the existence in this sample of some known risk factors for depressive relapse as a result of these procedures. While preliminary, the results suggest that serotonin may be Less critical to the pathogenesis of depression during the menopause.

Key Words: serotonin • menopause • depression • tryptophan depletion


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