Attenuation of hypercortisolemia in fawn-hooded rats by antidepressant drugs.

Long-term (21 days) treatment with imipramine, clomipramine (tricyclic antidepressants) and clorgyline (monoamine-oxidase type A inhibiting antidepressant) produced significant decreases in plasma corticosterone levels in fawn-hooded (FH) rats. In contrast, plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels were not altered by chronic imipramine or clorgyline treatment but were significantly higher in chronic clomipramine-treated FH rats. These findings demonstrate a differential effect of chronic antidepressant treatment on plasma ACTH and corticosterone concentrations in FH rats and, furthermore, support the results of earlier studies suggesting that the FH rat strain may represent a genetic model of depression.