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Effects of Remeron (mirtazapine) on cortisol

I went to the library and tracked down the data in the "Effects of mirtazapine on growth hormone, prolactin, and cortisol secretion in healthy male subjects" study.  In brief, they took 18 healthy 20 to 35 year old males.  They drew blood samples one hour prior.  At time zero, they took a blood sample and gave either 15 mg of mirtazapine or a placebo and took blood samples again every 30 minutes out to 240 minutes.  -60 was at 8 AM.  Below is the table and graph of the results.

I felt that cortisol of placebo patient #1 was out of the norm.  The yellow line on the graph represents the results not counting that patient.

Related Study:

• Mirtazapine Attenuates Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical Axis Hyperactivity in Depressed Patients - Doctor's Guide, 4/17/03 - "it has been shown to have an acute inhibiting effect on cortisol secretion in healthy subjects ... Apparently, mirtazapine rapidly attenuates HPA axis hyperactivity in depressed patients via direct pharmaco-endocrinological effects. However, this amelioration of HPA system dysregulation is not necessarily related to clinical improvement"