Effect of treatment on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in depressed patients

Researchers have reported that serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (sBDNF) of drug-free depressed patients are lower than those of healthy controls and proposed that low sBDNF levels might reflect failure of neuronal plasticity in depression. In this study, we compared sBDNF levels of depressed...

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Published in:European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience 2005-12, Vol.255 (6), p.381-386
Main Authors: Gonul, Ali Saffet, Akdeniz, Fisun, Taneli, Fatma, Donat, Ozlem, Eker, Cagdas, Vahip, Simavi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor - blood
Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy
Depressive Disorder, Major - metabolism
Depressive Disorder, Major - psychology
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
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Summary:Researchers have reported that serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (sBDNF) of drug-free depressed patients are lower than those of healthy controls and proposed that low sBDNF levels might reflect failure of neuronal plasticity in depression. In this study, we compared sBDNF levels of depressed patients (n = 28) before and after 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment, with those of healthy controls (n = 18) to test the hypothesis that initially low sBDNF levels of drug-free depressed patients will increase parallel with their clinical response to antidepressant treatment. The severity of depression and response to treatment were assessed with Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). sBDNF was assayed with the sandwich ELISA method. Baseline sBDNF levels of patients (mean, 20.8 ng/ml; [S.D., 6.7]) were significantly lower than those of controls (mean, 26.8 ng/ml; [S.D., 9.3]; p = 0.015), and were negatively correlated with HAM-D scores (r = -0.49, p = 0.007). After 8 weeks of treatment, sBDNF levels of patients had increased significantly (mean, 33.3 ng/ml; [S.D., 9.9]; p < 0.001) and no longer differed from those of controls. These results support the hypothesis that BDNF might play a critical role in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder and successful antidepressant treatment increases the attenuated BDNF levels in depressed patients.
ISSN:0940-1334
1433-8491
DOI:10.1007/s00406-005-0578-6