Anti-aging Research

To address the growing use of ad blockers we now use affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links help sites like QualityCounts.com stay open. Affiliate links cost you nothing but help me support my family. We do not allow paid reviews on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Also, you can donate to ben@qualitycounts.com via Zelle or PayPal. Click here for the PayPal QR. Click here for Bitcoin QR code or Bitcoin address: 39muDw6WpQV8j6EdA8eUBvT5iFDiVpVpiE

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.

Time (minutes) - (-60 is 8 AM)

-60

120

150

180

210

240

Patient
Number

Cortisol ug/100ml after mirtazapine (15 mg orally)

24.69

15.41

12.98

9.85

8.53

6.53

5.62

4.78

4.03

3.33

24.11

14.25

10.40

8.88

7.57

6.02

5.27

4.29

4.39

3.75

29.23

21.26

14.74

9.68

6.88

5.38

3.84

3.65

4.46

6.50

14.18

8.20

9.39

7.11

5.13

4.43

3.59

3.16

7.95

4.41

16.94

16.62

11.04

8.48

5.74

4.83

4.12

3.49

4.91

4.64

14.73

8.22

8.57

5.92

4.05

3.55

3.07

2.18

2.08

1.94

18.01

11.85

10.33

8.27

5.93

5.31

11.64

7.39

5.92

5.10

11.30

8.88

7.22

5.95

4.52

3.79

3.18

2.45

2.71

2.14

Mean

19.15

13.09

10.58

8.02

6.04

4.98

5.04

3.92

4.56

3.98

Cortisol ug/100ml after placebo

38.24

24.56

20.14

19.64

19.06

18.87

16.19

14.00

13.64

12.34

28.68

15.02

13.18

11.34

9.87

10.28

11.98

12.49

11.77

11.54

23.44

15.10

12.82

12.99

11.82

9.29

11.08

9.33

10.47

7.90

18.86

13.07

12.40

11.08

8.77

7.58

6.91

13.75

15.49

13.19

13.80

9.71

7.96

8.95

6.24

6.38

5.59

6.54

5.79

6.81

24.90

16.32

13.22

15.18

17.52

15.69

13.14

13.06

12.11

10.08

18.31

15.10

12.06

11.39

10.39

10.59

10.79

9.25

9.39

10.81

10.19

7.18

6.36

4.78

5.77

8.46

9.14

7.25

5.83

8.48

Mean

22.05

14.51

12.27

11.92

11.18

10.39

10.00

10.58

10.56

10.14

Cortisol ug/100ml after placebo not counting placebo patient #1

Mean

19.74

13.07

11.14

10.82

10.05

9.75

9.80

10.10

10.12

9.83

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"