title: Efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy is associated with changing blood levels of homovanillic acid and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in refractory depressed patients: a pilot study.
abstract: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective for patients with antidepressant medication-resistant depression. However, the mechanisms of ECT's effectiveness for treating depression are not fully understood. We therefore investigated ECT's effects on blood levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), catecholamine metabolites, and nitric oxide (NO) in 18 treatment-refractory depressed patients. Serum BDNF levels increased significantly following ECT in responders to ECT (before ECT: 8.0+/-9.7 ng/mL; five weeks after start of ECT: 15.1+/-11.1 ng/mL), whereas BDNF levels in non-responders were unchanged (before ECT: 11.5+/-11.0 ng/mL; five weeks after start of ECT: 9.4+/-7.5 ng/mL). Furthermore, the plasma HVA levels, but not MHPG levels, were significantly reduced after ECT (before ECT: 8.5+/-1.9 ng/mL; five weeks after start of ECT: 5.8+/-2.2 ng/mL). This latter finding occurred in parallel with the improvement of depressive symptoms in all patients. These results suggest that the mechanisms underlying ECT's effect on refractory depression may be related to dopaminergic neurons and BDNF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Iseigaoka, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Reiji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ikenouchi-Sugita
authors.forename: Hikaru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Wakako
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Umene-Nakano
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Nobuhisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000628:therapy*; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D006719:Homovanillic Acid