Effect of treatment on serum glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in depressed patients

• Published in: Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 886 - 890
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xiaobin, Zhang, Zhijun, Xie, Chunming, Xi, Guangjun, Zhou, Honghui, Zhang, Yumei, Sha, Weiwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.04.2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Analysis of Variance; Antidepressants; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Cohort Studies; Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major - blood; Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; GDNF; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor - blood; Humans; Male; MDD; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Retrospective Studies; SD; GDNF; Antidepressants; SPSS; HDRS; MDD; ELISA; Mood disorder; Human; Biological fluid; Treatment; Psychotropic; Glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor; Antidepressant agent; Depression; Serum
• ISSN: 0278-5846; 1878-4216
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2008.01.004

Post-mortem studies have demonstrated a decreased number of glia, reduced glial density, and a decreased glia/neuron ratio in different brain areas of patients diagnosed with a major depressive disorder (MDD). Researchers have therefore suggested that neurotrophic growth factor systems might be involved in the aetiology of MDD. This study aimed to test whether glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a member of the transforming growth factor β family, in serum was associated with MDD. Serum concentrations were measured in MDD patients before treatment ( n = 76), after 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment ( n = 39), and in control subjects ( n = 50) using a sandwich ELISA method. Serum GDNF was significantly lower in MDD patients before treatment than in control subjects ( P < 0.001). From baseline to remission after 8 weeks of treatment, the increase in serum GDNF was statistically significant ( P < 0.001). The present study suggests that lower serum GDNF might be involved in the pathophysiology of MDD and antidepressant treatment increases the GDNF in MDD.