The level of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor is reduced in the blood serum of patients with melancholic depression

The level of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor is reduced in the blood serum of patients with melancholic depression

 

Authors

 

M.G. Uzbekov

Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry ‒ Branch of FSBI “V.P. Serbsky National Medical Research Center of Psychiatry and Narcology” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation

S.N. Shikhov

Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry ‒ Branch of FSBI “V.P. Serbsky National Medical Research Center of Psychiatry and Narcology” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation

V.V. Kryukov

Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry ‒ Branch of FSBI “V.P. Serbsky National Medical Research Center of Psychiatry and Narcology” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation

V.N. Krasnov

Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry ‒ Branch of FSBI “V.P. Serbsky National Medical Research Center of Psychiatry and Narcology” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation

 

https://doi.org/10.26617/1810-3111-2024-3(124)-12-18

 

Journal: Siberian Herald of Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. 2024; 3 (124):  12-18.

 

Abstract

Introduction. A comprehensive study of depression and pathogenetic mechanisms of this disease is one of the main tasks of medical science. The socio-demographic (old age, female gender, low social status, unemployment) and clinical (history of depressive symptoms, somatic and neurological diseases) risk factors for the development of depression are described. Manifestations of melancholy are often found in the structure of anxious depression. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the most studied neurotrophins in depression. Objective: to determine the level of BDNF in the blood serum of patients with melancholic depression. Material. The study sample (n=32) included individuals aged 20 to 50 years, from which two groups were formed: 1) the main group ‒ patients (n=21) with ICD-10 diagnoses: moderate depressive episode (F32.1) and severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms (F32.2); bipolar affective disorder, current episode manic (F31.1), bipolar affective disorder, current episode mild or moderate depression (F31.3) with manifestations of anxious melancholy, 2) control ‒ healthy volunteers without mental disorders (n=11). Clinical and psychopathological qualification of depression upon admission of patients to the hospital was determined by the presence of at least 3 melancholic signs according to ICD-10: chronobiological shift in physiological activity (early morning awakening, anergy before exercise, daily fluctuations with greater severity of depression in the first half of the day), decreased vital drives (appetite, libido). Methods. The severity of depression and anxiety was assessed using the Hamilton clinical scales (HDRS and HARS). The descriptive statistics methods were used in the statistical analysis; the Wilcoxon‒Mann‒Whitney U-test was used to compare intergroup indicators. Differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. The nature of the distribution of signs was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov D-statistics; the normality of the data distribution was accepted at p>0.05. The concentration of BDNF in the blood serum was determined by the enzyme immunoassay method using reagents for the quantitative determination of BDNF (Human Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor). Results. Upon admission to the hospital at baseline, the BDNF level in patients of the main group with manifestations of melancholic depression was statistically significantly (p<0.05) lower compared to that in the control group of healthy volunteers (Kolmogorov-Smirnov D-criterion>0.2): 14.62±2.22 ng/ml versus 20.15±2.59 ng/ml. Discussion. In patients with moderate and severe depressive episodes without psychotic symptoms within bipolar disorder and manifestations of melancholic depression, the initial level of BDNF in the blood serum before the start of antidepressant therapy was statistically significantly lower compared to healthy volunteers of the control group. Conclusion. A decrease in BDNF biosynthesis in brain tissue during the development of a complex set of pathological processes in patients with melancholic depression leads to the dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in maintaining the brain homeostasis, which entails a decrease in the secretion of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor and a decrease in its transfusion through the BBB.

 

Keywords: bipolar disorder, melancholic depression, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, enzyme immunoassay, blood-brain barrier.

 

Article (pdf)

 

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Materials  

For citation: Uzbekov M.G., Shikhov S.N., Kryukov V.V., Krasnov V.N. The level of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor is reduced in the blood serum of patients with melancholic depression.Siberian Herald of Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry.2024; 3 (124): 12-18. https://doi.org/10.26617/1810-3111-2024-3(124)-12-18

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