Elsevier

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 39, Issue 8, 15 April 1996, Pages 703-707
Biological Psychiatry

Original article
Cerebrospinal fluid corticotropin-releasing factor concentrations in patients with anxiety disorders and normal comparison subjects

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3223(95)00197-2Get rights and content

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) were measured in a group of patients with anxiety disorders and normal comparison subjects (NC) to explore the hypothesis that abnormalities in CRF neuronal regulation occur in patients with anxiety disorders. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no differences in CSF CRF concentrations between the four diagnostic categories: panic disorder (PD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and NCs. Male OCD patients had higher CSF CRF concentrations than men with PD and GAD and male NCs. CSF CRF concentration was positively correlated with age in women but not in men. These findings suggest that central neuronal CRF regulation may be affected by both age and gender.

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  • Cited by (0)

    This work was presented at the Forty-Fifth Annual Convention of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, May 9–13, 1990, New York, New York.

    This work was supported by NIMH MH-42088.

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