An episode of depression may or may not have occurred. A hormone formed in the adrenal cortex. The excretion of this hormone is suppressed in nonendogenously depressed and normal persons after injection of dexamethasone. A single injection of dexamethasone is given, followed by monitoring of urine or blood cortisol levels. In endogenously depressed persons, cortisol levels do not fall.
Endogenous depression is thought to be related to neurotransmitter deficiency.
Psychiatric Nursing . C.V. Mosby, 1995. The person with a mood disorder 1. Your faviorite aunt is suffering terribly from problems associated with insomnia. She has lost weight and looks haggard and drawn.