الفهرس 
DEDICATIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
This work aimed at discovering the relationship between the circadian rhythm disruptions and variations to the development of depressive symptoms. Rating of depression was done by specific validated psychometric scales and inventories, circadian typology was studied using the chronotyping and the circadian patterns of hormonal secretion.positive correlative results between depression rating scales and MEQ were obtained and proved that circadian preferences and subject’s chronotype tendency affects possibility of developing depression .Disruption of cortisol rhythm of secretion was observed that is in addition to elevated levels in patients and to some extent in their first degree relatives.indicating possible role in aetiology and development of disease symptomatology ,besides it’s possible predictive value in at risk and subjects with subclinical complaints, and hence it’s future role as a biomarker for the disease. This work gives preliminary evidence to the following points: First that the genetic and environmental susceptibility to depression is expressed, in part, as alterations in cortisol day curves evident by the elevated levels of cortisol secretion of the relative group, and the significant correlations of these levels with the psychometric assessment of such high risk individuals. Second: that cortisol abnormalities are not merely the consequence of depressive states or the stressors associated with its onset, evient by data collected from the patient group, Thus, alteration of diurnal secretion of cortisol is a possible endophenotype of depression, as depressed patients show alterations in cortisol dynamics over the day as concluded from previous studies. Furthermore , the coincidence of the time course of depressed mood ,and cortisol excretion in the patients was interpreted as reflecting a temporal relationship between clinical findings in depression and the cortisol rhythm This interpretation was supported by the significant correlation between the mean plasma levels and the phenotypic symptoms. Data of the 1st degree relatives, and controls showed a positive but weaker role of cortisol rhythm, Indicating that depression, which is the differentiating factor between the three groups, has a mutual relationship with HPA hormone Probably, reflect diurnal fluctuations of being awake rather than fluctuations of mood.