The association between serum levels of neopterin and number of depressive episodes of major depression.
BACKGROUND
There is an interaction between the immune system and the central nervous system by means of hormones, peptides, and neurotransmitters. The aims of the present study were to determine whether the serum neopterin levels in patients with major depression (MD) differ from a healthy control group and to investigate the relationship between previous MD episodes and serum neopterin levels.


METHODS
Thirty patients who were admitted to the GATA Psychiatry Outpatient Clinics and were diagnosed with MD according to DSM-IV, and who agreed to participate in the study, were included in the study. Twenty-six healthy volunteers matched for age, gender, and level of education who agreed to participate in the study were served as controls. Peripheral venous blood samples were obtained from the patients and the control group for complete blood count, routine biochemistry, and the detection of serum neopterin levels. The analyses were performed in the laboratory of the GATA Department of Biochemistry.


RESULTS
There was no significant difference between the MD group and the healthy controls with respect to age, level of education, smoking, and gender. Serum neopterin levels of the MD group who had experienced two or more episodes were higher than the first-episode group and the control group. Age of onset and the number of previous episodes had an independent impact on serum neopterin levels in MD patients, while smoking did not show any effect.


CONCLUSIONS
In the present study, the neopterin levels of patients who had experienced two or more episodes were higher than the first-episode depressive group and healthy control group. It was also found that the number of previous depressive episodes and the ages of the MD cases had an independent effect on serum neopterin levels.
Celik
Cemil
C
Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey. drcemilcelik@yahoo.com
Erdem
Murat
M
Cayci
Tuncer
T
Ozdemir
Barbaros
B
Ozgur Akgul
E
E
Kurt
Yasemin Gulcan
YG
Yaman
Halil
H
Isintas
Mehmet
M
Ozgen
Fuat
F
Ozsahin
Aytekin
A
D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019798:Neopterin / Q000097:blood*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D019798:Neopterin