Serum Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Major Depressive Disorder: State - Trait Issues, Clinical Features, and Pharmacological Treatment

Marc Molendijk (1) , Boudewijn Aa Bus (1) , Philip Spinhoven (1) , Brenda W.J.H. Penninx (1) , Gunter Kenis (1) , Jos Prickaerts (1) , Richard Oude Voshaar (1) , Bernet Elzinga (1)

1 CLinical Psychology

Recent evidence supports 'the neurotrophin hypothesis of depression' in its prediction that Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is involved in depression. However, some key questions remain unanswered, including whether abnormalities in BDNF persist beyond the clinical state of depression, whether BDNF levels are related to the clinical features of depression, and whether distinct antidepressants affect BDNF levels equally. We addressed these questions and investigated serum BDNF levels in 962 depressed patients, 700 fully remitted persons (≥6 months) and 382 healthy controls. We found serum BDNF levels to be low in antidepressant free depressed patients relative to controls (P=.007) and to depressed patients who were treated with an antidepressant (P=.001). BDNF levels of fully remitted persons (whether unmedicated or treated with an antidepressant) were comparable to those of controls. Analyzing the sample of antidepressant free patients showed that BDNF levels were unrelated to the core clinical features of depression such as its severity or first versus a recurrent episode. The antidepressant associated up-regulation of serum BDNF in depressed patients was confined to SSRIs (P=.003) and St. John's wort (P=.03). Our results suggest that low serum levels of BDNF are a state abnormality that is evident during depression and normalizes during remission. Increases in serum levels of BDNF during antidepressant treatment appear to be confined to some antidepressants and do not directly parallel clinical characteristics, such as the severity depressive symptoms.

Mots clés: depression; brain-derived neurotrophic factor; antidepressants; BDNF; MDD

Marc Molendijk, Boudewijn Aa Bus, Philip Spinhoven, Brenda W.J.H. Penninx, Gunter Kenis, et al.. Serum Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Major Depressive Disorder: State - Trait Issues, Clinical Features, and Pharmacological Treatment. Molecular Psychiatry, 2010, ⟨10.1038/mp.2010.98⟩. ⟨hal-00578453⟩