Drugs and the DST: need for a reappraisal

It has generally been assumed that psychotropic drugs do not influence results on the dexamethasone suppression test (DST), except in some specific situations. Yet they directly affect the activity of many neurotransmitter systems, which in turn regulate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. Several reports have shown correlations between the intake of or recent withdrawal from psychoactive substances and changes in DST …