The systolic blood pressure response of depressed patients to infused norepinephrine

Abstract

In an unselected group of thirty-eight depressed patients it was found that clinical recovery was positively correlated with an enhanced systolic blood pressure response to infused NE. All forms of physical treatment employed resulted in high recovery rates and high rates of NE potentiation as compared with a placebo group. Patients who showed a low (below the median) initial NE response showed higher recovery rates and higher rates of NE potentiation when given a somatic treatment than did patients with a high initial NE response.