ACTH Levels after the Dexamethasone Suppression Test in Depression

To the Editor: In a letter in the January 28 issue Reus et al. reported that base-line plasma corticotropin (ACTH) levels were not elevated in depressed patients who did not have cortisol suppression after receiving 1 mg of dexamethasone, as compared with other depressed patients who had suppression.¹ They also stated that their results for ACTH levels after dexamethasone administration differed from ours, and indicated that the observed increases in adrenocortical activity in depressed patients were secondary to pituitary ACTH release. Incidentally, their Table 1 should indicate that it provides data on plasma ACTH rather than on cortisol, probably because.