ReviewFrontiers in pharmacology2021
Efficacy of Treatments Targeting Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Systems for Major Depressive Disorder: A Meta-Analysis.
Review in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perioperative psycho-behavioral stress promotes cancer metastasis beyond the impact of surgery: Neuroendocrine and tumor molecular mediating mechanisms.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- The Role of Exosomes in the Regulation of Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Treatment Resistance-Linking Cellular Crosstalk to Clinical Implications in Depression.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Adenylyl Cyclase 8 in Dorsal CA1 Neurons Prevents Depressive-Like Behaviors by Maintaining Neuronal Excitability and Glutamatergic Neurotransmission Through TIP39-PTH2R Signaling.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Pathophysiology of depression and anxiety in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.World journal of gastrointestinal pathophysiology · 2025Review
- The cortisol axis and psychiatric disorders: an updated review.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2025Review
- Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin Across Various Depressive Disorders.Psychiatry investigation · 2025Article
- Immune-neuroendocrine crosstalk in mood and psychotic disorders: A meta-analysis and systematic review.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Review
- Clinical Pharmacology and Approach to Dose Selection of Emestedastat, a Novel Tissue Cortisol Synthesis Inhibitor for the Treatment of Central Nervous System Disease.Clinical pharmacology in drug development · 2025Review
- Treatment-resistant depression: molecular mechanisms and management.Molecular biomedicine · 2024Review
- Assessing the Role of Cortisol in Anxiety, Major Depression, and Neuroticism: A Mendelian Randomization Study UsingBiological psychiatry global open science · 2024Article
- Endocrinological Treatment Targets for Depressive Disorder.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Review
- The HPA Axis as Target for Depression.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Article
- Vasopressin as Possible Treatment Option in Autism Spectrum Disorder.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Major depressive disorder.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2023Review
- The Melanocortin System: A Promising Target for the Development of New Antidepressant Drugs.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Molecular basis and mechanism of action ofChinese herbal medicines · 2023Review
- Targeting the Arginine Vasopressin VNeuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2023Review
- Antidepressant Potential of Quercetin and itsFrontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). A number of studies have attempted to use HPA-modulating medications to treat depression. However, their results are inconsistent. The efficacy of these drugs for MDD remains uncertain. The aims of this meta-analysis were to determine the effect and safety profile of HPA-targeting medications for MDD. World of Science and PubMed databases were comprehensively searched up to March 2021. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and open-label trials exploring antiglucocorticoid and related medications in patients with depression were included. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for continuous or dichotomous outcomes, respectively. In the meta-analysis, we identified 16 RCTs and seven open-label studies that included 2972 subjects. Pooling the change data that assessed the efficacy across all included HPA-targeting medications for depression showed a significant difference between interventions and controls with very small heterogeneity after influence analysis (SMD = 0.138, 95%CI = 0.052, 0.224, p = 0.002; I
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.