Cerebrospinal fluid corticotropin-releasing hormone in depression: relationship to noradrenergic function.

We investigated the neurotransmitter regulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). Among 21 depressed patients cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of CRH significantly correlated with urinary outputs of norepinephrine and its major metabolites, and there were trends for significant correlations with both CSF and plasma levels of norepinephrine. These results suggest that CRH may be associated with the dysregulation of the norepinephrine system that is found in desperation.