Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in COVID-19 Patients and its Association with the COVID-19 Manifestations

• Published in: Journal of molecular neuroscience Vol. 72; no. 9; pp. 1820 - 1830
• Main Authors: Asgarzadeh, Ali, Fouladi, Nasrin, Asghariazar, Vahid, Sarabi, Shahnaz Fooladi, Khiavi, Hamid Afzoun, Mahmoudi, Mahsa, Safarzadeh, Elham
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Cell Biology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Dyspnea; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Fever; Hypoxia; Neurochemistry; Neurology; Neurosciences; Proteomics; Respiration; Respiratory system; Statistical analysis; Viral diseases; COVID-19; Neurological manifestations; Hypoxia; Dyspnea; BDNF
• ISSN: 0895-8696; 1559-1166
• DOI: 10.1007/s12031-022-02039-1

COVID-19 is a systematic disease that frequently implies neurological and non-neurological manifestations, predominantly by inducing hypoxia. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a key factor in regulating functions of nervous and respiratory systems and has been strongly related to hypoxia. Therefore, this study planned to investigate BDNF association with the COVID-19 manifestations especially neurological impairments and the infection-induced hypoxia. We enrolled sixty-four COVID-19 patients and twenty-four healthy individuals in this study. Patients were divided into two groups, with and without neurological manifestations, and their serum BDNF levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). COVID-19 patients had significantly lower BDNF levels than healthy individuals ( p  = 0.023). BDNF levels were significantly lower in patients with neurological manifestations compared to healthy individuals ( p  = 0.010). However, we did not observe a statistically significant difference in BDNF levels between patients with and without neurological manifestations ( p  = 0.175). BDNF’s levels were significantly lower in patients with CNS manifestations ( p  = 0.039) and higher in patients with fever ( p  = 0.03) and dyspnea ( p  = 0.006). Secondly, BDNF levels have a significant negative association with oxygen therapy requirement ( p  = 0.015). These results strongly suggest the critical association between dysregulated BDNF and hypoxia in promoting COVID-19 manifestations, particularly neurological impairments.