Electroconvulsive therapy improves clinical manifestations of treatment-resistant depression without changing serum BDNF levels

Chiara Rapinesi; Georgios D Kotzalidis; Martina Curto; Daniele Serata; Vittoria R Ferri; Paola Scatena; Paolo Carbonetti; Flavia Napoletano; Jessica Miele; Sergio Scaccianoce; Antonio Del Casale; Ferdinando Nicoletti; Gloria Angeletti; Paolo Girardi

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.009

Electroconvulsive therapy improves clinical manifestations of treatment-resistant depression without changing serum BDNF levels

Psychiatry Res. 2015 Jun 30;227(2-3):171-8. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.009. Epub 2015 Apr 13.

Affiliations

¹ NESMOS Department (Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sensory Organs), Sapienza University of Rome, School of Medicine and Psychology, Sant׳Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy; Neuropsychiatry Department, Villa Rosa, Suore Hospitaliere of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Viterbo, Italy.
² NESMOS Department (Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sensory Organs), Sapienza University of Rome, School of Medicine and Psychology, Sant׳Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ NESMOS Department (Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sensory Organs), Sapienza University of Rome, School of Medicine and Psychology, Sant׳Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
⁴ Neuropsychiatry Department, Villa Rosa, Suore Hospitaliere of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Viterbo, Italy.
⁵ NESMOS Department (Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sensory Organs), Sapienza University of Rome, School of Medicine and Psychology, Sant׳Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy.
⁶ Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
⁷ NESMOS Department (Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sensory Organs), Sapienza University of Rome, School of Medicine and Psychology, Sant׳Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy; Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Fondazione Padre Alberto Mileno Onlus, Vasto, Chieti, Italy.
⁸ NESMOS Department (Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sensory Organs), Sapienza University of Rome, School of Medicine and Psychology, Sant׳Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.

PMID: 25910420
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.009

Abstract

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). It may act through intracellular process modulation, but its exact mechanism is still unknown. Animal research supports a neurotrophic effect for ECT. We aimed to investigate the association between changes in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (sBDNF) levels and clinical improvement following ECT in patients with TRD. Twenty-one patients with TRD (2 men, 19 women; mean age, 63.5 years; S.D., 11.9) were assessed through the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and the Clinical Global Impressions scale, Severity (CGIs) before and after a complete ECT cycle. At the same time-points, patients underwent blood withdrawal for measuring sBDNF levels. ECT significantly reduced HDRS, BPRS, and CGIS scores, but not sBDNF levels. No significant correlation was found between sBDNF changes, and each of HDRS, BPRS, and CGIs score changes. sBDNF levels in TRD patients were low both at baseline and post-ECT. Our results do not support that improvements in TRD following ECT are mediated through increases in sBDNF levels.

Keywords: Bipolar depression; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), serum levels; Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); Major depression; Treatment-resistant depression.

MeSH terms

Aged
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / blood*
Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant / blood
Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant / therapy*
Electroconvulsive Therapy*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Treatment Outcome

Substances

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
BDNF protein, human