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Fabrice Duval, MD; Marie-Claude Mokrani, PhD; Marc-Antoine Crocq, MD; Martine Jautz, MAPsych; Paul Bailey, MRCPsych; Than-Son Diep, MD; Jean-Paul Macher, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1996;53(9):833-840.

Abstract
Background
This study sought to determine whether changes in thyroid function that may occur during antidepressant treatment are related to a direct effect of the drug on the thyroid axis or to a change in clinical state.

Methods
Morning and evening thyroid function was evaluated in 30 euthyroid inpatients who met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive episode, by determination of free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, and thyrotropin levels before and after 8 AM and 11 PM protirelin challenges (200 µg intravenously), on the same day. Results at baseline were compared with those after 1 month of antidepressant treatment with either amitriptyline hydrochloride, fluoxetine hydrochloride, or toloxatone.

Results
Clinical efficacy and effects on thyroid function did not differ across the 3 antidepressant drugs. Compared with pretreatment values, significant reductions in basal serum 8 AM free thyroxine, 11 PM free thyroxine, and 8 AM free triiodothyronine levels and increases in 11 PM maximum increment in plasma thyrotropin level and the difference between 11 PM and 8 AM maximum increment in plasma thyrotropin values were observed in responders (n=11) but not in partial responders (n=6) or nonresponders (n=13). Moreover, nonresponders exhibited lower pretreatment 11 PM thyrotropin values (basal and maximal increment above basal) than responders.

Conclusions
The results suggest that (1) changes in thyroid function are related to clinical recovery rather than to a direct effect of the antidepressant drug and (2) patients with the lowest pretreatment evening thyrotropin secretion have the lowest rate of antidepressant response, and this may contribute to treatment resistance.

Author Affiliations
From the Centre Hospitalier (Drs Duval, Crocq, Jautz, Diep, and Macher) and the Institute for Research in Neurosciences and Psychiatry (Drs Mokrani and Bailey), Rouffach, France.

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