No effect of antidepressant treatment on elevated serum ceruloplasmin level in patients with first-episode depression: a longitudinal study.
OBJECTIVE
Ceruloplasmin, an acute phase reactant with antioxidant capacity, has been found to be increased in some psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. However, studies in depression are very scarce. We undertook this study determine the serum ceruloplasmin levels of depressive patients before and after treatment, to compare them with those of healthy control subjects, and to assess any possible association of ceruloplasmin and treatment response.


METHODS
Nineteen (8 male, 11 female) patients with major depressive disorder and 40 (17 male, 23 female) healthy control subjects were included in the study. The patients received naturalistic antidepressant treatment for 8 weeks after diagnosis. Serum ceruloplasmin levels and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) scores of the patients were measured before and after their antidepressant treatment. Blood collection for ceruloplasmin measurement was done only once for healthy control subjects.


RESULTS
Patients' ceruloplasmin levels before and after antidepressant treatment were significantly higher than control subjects (t = 7.569, p <0.001 and t = 6.764, p <0.001, respectively). Despite clinical improvement, ceruloplasmin did not show any significant change after treatment in patients with depression (t = -1.163, p = 0.260) and remained higher than levels of control subjects. No correlation was found between HAM-D score, presence of response, and ceruloplasmin levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Compared to healthy control subjects, ceruloplasmin level seemed to be higher in patients with depression and remained high, despite acute antidepressant treatment. Improvement in clinical measurements of depression after antidepressant treatment was not reflected as significant alterations in serum ceruloplasmin levels.
Department of Psychiatry, Dicle University School of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
Mehmet Cemal
MC
Kaya
Yasin
Y
Bez
Salih
S
Selek
Ibrahim
I
Fatih Karababa
Mahmut
M
Bulut
Haluk A
HA
Savaş
Hakim
H
Celik
Hasan
H
Herken
D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers; D002570:Ceruloplasmin / Q000032:analysis*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D002570:Ceruloplasmin