Anger attacks in unipolar depression, Part 2: Neuroendocrine correlates and changes following fluoxetine treatment

Objective: Neuroendocrine derangements have been reported in both depression and aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the subset of depressed patients with anger attacks have a distinctive neuroendocrine abnormality. Method: The thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) test was administered to 25 patients with major depression, 12 of whom reported having anger attacks, at the Depression Research Program of the Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Twenty-two subjects underwent the TRH test again after 8 weeks of treatment with fluoxetine, a relatively selective serotonin uptake inhibitor