Psychoendocrine aspects of acute schizoPSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE CLEGHORN 281 phrenic reactions. Psychosom Med 25: 510

Four young male soldiers suffering from first-episode acute schizophrenic reactions were studied psychiatrically and endocrinologically over a period of months while they received milieu therapy for their illnesses. Independent of endocrine findings, the clinical course of each patient was classi-fied into phases, in which special emphasis was given to periods designated "Acute Psychotic Turmoil, " "Psychotic Equilibrium, "Anaclitic Depression, " and "Re-covery." Psychiatric phases characterized by a high degree of anxiety or depression were found to be associated with marked elevations in urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroid excretion—as high as 2-3 times normal. Conversely, output of corticosteroids dropped toward normal levels during "Psychotic Equilibrium " and "Recovery " periods, both these phases being char-acterized by relative emotional calm. These shifts in 17-hydroxycorticosteroid excretion (Turmoil> Psychotic Equi-librium < Depression> Recovery < Turmoil) were predicted, and were sta