Introduction

The aims of our study are: i) to explore whether plasma levels of BDNF/GDNF are valuable in the diagnosis of first-episode depression; ii) to discuss whether there is an association between peripheral plasma levels of BDNF/GDNF and patients' depression severity and cognitive dysfunction; iii) to explore the association between plasma levels of BDNF/GDNF and the effectiveness of antidepressant treatment.

Methods

Ninety patients with first-episode unmedicated MDD and healthy controls were recruited. MDD patients were treated with antidepressant medication for 8 weeks. Patients were assessed for clinical symptoms using HDRS-17 and HAMA-14. Social and neurocognitive functioning of all subjects was assessed at baseline using the Functional Assessment Test Short Form (FAST) and the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). At the same time, peripheral venous blood was drawn from all subjects for BDNF/GDNF peripheral plasma level analysis at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment.

Results

The baseline BDNF/GDNF levels in MDD patients were significantly lower than that in healthy controls. The area under ROC curve (AUC) of baseline plasma BDNF and GDNF levels predicting MDD was 0.776 (95 % CI: 0.705–0.846, p < 0.001) and 0.864 (95 % CI: 0.808–0.920, p < 0.001), respectively. The baseline GDNF level (beta = 0.425, p = 0.001), the autonomy score of FAST (beta = −0.247, p = 0.037) and BACS-SC score of MCCB (beta = 0.323, p = 0.039) were predictors of HDRS-17 reduction rate after 8 weeks' antidepressant treatment.

Limitations

A longer follow-up period than 8 weeks may make the results more convincing, and the sample size of this study is still insufficient.

Conclusion

The decreased plasma levels of BDNF and GDNF are strong indicators for predicting the occurrence of MDD. This preliminary finding highlighted the value of GDNF plasma concentrations in the diagnosis of MDD and the prognosis of antidepressant treatment.

中文翻译：

---

血浆BDNF和GDNF水平与首发MDD诊断、治疗反应的关系

介绍

我们研究的目的是：i）探讨血浆 BDNF/GDNF 水平在诊断首发抑郁症中是否有价值；ii) 讨论外周血 BDNF/GDNF 水平与患者抑郁严重程度和认知功能障碍之间是否存在关联；iii) 探讨血浆 BDNF/GDNF 水平与抗抑郁治疗效果之间的关系。

方法

招募了 90 名首发未用药 MDD 患者和健康对照者。MDD 患者接受抗抑郁药物治疗 8 周。使用 HDRS-17 和 HAMA-14 评估患者的临床症状。使用功能评估测试简表 (FAST) 和 MATRICS 共识认知电池 (MCCB) 在基线评估所有受试者的社会和神经认知功能。同时，在基线和治疗 8 周后，从所有受试者抽取外周静脉血进行 BDNF/GDNF 外周血浆水平分析。

结果

MDD 患者的基线 BDNF/GDNF 水平显着低于健康对照组。基线血浆 BDNF 和 GDNF 水平预测 MDD 的 ROC 曲线下面积 (AUC) 分别为 0.776 (95% CI: 0.705–0.846, p  < 0.001) 和 0.864 (95% CI: 0.808–0.920, p  < 0.001)。基线 GDNF 水平 (beta = 0.425, p  = 0.001)、FAST 的自主性得分 (beta = -0.247, p  = 0.037) 和 MCCB 的 BACS-SC 得分 (beta = 0.323, p  = 0.039) 是 HDRS-的预测因子。 17 抗抑郁治疗 8 周后降低率。

限制

超过8周的随访时间可能会使结果更有说服力，而本研究的样本量仍然不足。

结论

BDNF和GDNF的血浆水平降低是预测MDD发生的有力指标。这一初步发现强调了 GDNF 血浆浓度在 MDD 诊断和抗抑郁治疗预后中的价值。