여성 주요우울증 환자에서의 통각예민도와 혈장 B-endorphin양 면역 반응치

Pain Sensitivity and Plasma B一 Endorphin-like Immunoreactity in Major Depressioi

The pain sensitivity and plasma /9-endorphin immunoreactivity were measured in 16 female patients with major depression diagnosed by DSMI criteria and a control group of 10 normal healthy females. The depression group was divided into two subgroups of 8 depressives with low pain symptoms ( D L P ) and with high pain symptoms (DHP). The results are summarized as follows: 1) No difference was observed between DLP and D H P in the symptoms of depression as measured by H R SD and SC L -90 -R and in the symptoms of anxiety as measured by STAI — I and SCL -90 -R. 2) The pain threshold and tolerance of the depression group as measured by submaximum effort tourniquet technique ( S E T T ) was higher compared with the control. The DLP subgroup was more insensitive as compared to the control group, but no difference in all modes of pain stimulation was observed between D H P and the control. There was no significant difference in the pain sensitivities between D L P and DHP. 3) Plasma B-endorphin immunoreactivities of both D L P and D H P were higher than that of the control. However, no difference was proved between D L P and DHP. 4) The correlations between plama jS-endorph in immunoreactivity and the pain sensitivities in each mode of pain stimulation were mostly insignificant, with a striking exception, in the subgroup of DHP, of a significant negative correlation between plasma 卢一endorphin immunoreactivity and the pain sensitivities as measured by SETT. On the basis of the above stated results, the author suggests that there may be certain qualita-tive difference of endorphin activity between DLP and DHP.