Abstract

Measurement of basal and stress-induced salivary alpha-amylase activity may help to understand autonomic nervous system disturbance in mental disorders. The potential sympathetic nervous system dysregulation in children and adolescent psychopathologies is mostly unknown. The present study was aimed to test the hypothesis that salivary alpha-amylase activity is higher in youths diagnosed with depression than in healthy subjects considering a part of the daily rhythm of enzyme activity and its morning to midday slope. A total of 30 children aged 15 ± 0.46 years (15 patients with depression, 4 boys, 11 girls, and 15 sex- and age-matched healthy controls) participated in the study. Two saliva samples were collected from each subject to measure activity of alpha-amylase in the morning and midday. The results of the present study revealed that the midday but not morning alpha-amylase activity was lower in patients with depression than in healthy controls. The diurnal increase in enzyme activity present in healthy subjects was absent in patients. The children and adolescents with depression exhibited flatter morning to midday slopes of alpha-amylase activity. In conclusion, the present results indicate a disturbance of alpha-amylase daily rhythm in youths with depression and motivate further studies on the relationship between sympathetic activation and mood disorders.

摘要

测量基础和压力诱导的唾液α-淀粉酶活性可能有助于了解精神疾病中的自主神经系统紊乱。儿童和青少年精神病学中潜在的交感神经系统失调大多是未知的。本研究旨在检验以下假设：考虑到酶活性的每日节律及其早晨到中午的变化，被诊断为患有抑郁症的年轻人的唾液α-淀粉酶活性高于健康受试者。共有30名15±0.46岁的儿童（15名抑郁症患者，4名男孩，11名女孩以及15名性别和年龄相匹配的健康对照者）参加了研究。从每个受试者收集两个唾液样品以在早晨和中午测量α-淀粉酶的活性。本研究的结果表明，抑郁症患者的中午但不是早晨的α-淀粉酶活性低于健康对照组。患者没有出现健康受试者中酶活性的昼夜增加。患有抑郁症的儿童和青少年的α-淀粉酶活性从早上到中午都有较平坦的斜率。综上所述，目前的结果表明抑郁青年的α-淀粉酶每日节律紊乱，并激发了对交感神经激活与情绪障碍之间关系的进一步研究。患有抑郁症的儿童和青少年的α-淀粉酶活性从早上到中午都有较平坦的斜率。综上所述，目前的结果表明抑郁青年的α-淀粉酶每日节律紊乱，并激发了对交感神经激活与情绪障碍之间关系的进一步研究。患有抑郁症的儿童和青少年的α-淀粉酶活性从早上到中午都有较平坦的斜率。综上所述，目前的结果表明抑郁青年的α-淀粉酶每日节律紊乱，并激发了对交感神经激活与情绪障碍之间关系的进一步研究。