The pathophysiology of depression: its relation to inflammation, lipid peroxidation, and hypothalamic-pituitary-Adrenal axis dysregulation.

Depression is a complex multifactorial pathology and the most common mental illness. In this study we sought to determine the link between the deregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, immuno-inflammatory markers, lipid peroxidation and depression. We included in our prospective study, 103 patients suffering from depressive episode and 50 controls. The hormonal status was evaluated by the measurement of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol, the inflammatory status by nitric oxide (NO) and C-reactive protein (CRP), immune status by IgA IgG, IgM, and finally lipid peroxidation by estimating the level of malondialdehyde (MDA). Our results show a significant difference between the plasma level of the cortisol in depressed patients and controls as well as for ACTH levels. In addition the mean levels of CRP and MDA in patients were significantly higher in patients in comparison to controls. These results were correlated with the severity of depression.