title: Electroconvulsive therapy exerts mainly acute molecular changes in serum of major depressive disorder patients.
abstract: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is mainly used to treat medication resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, with a remission rate of up to 90%. However, little is known about the serum molecular changes induced by this treatment. Understanding the mechanisms of action of ECT at the molecular level could lead to identification of response markers and potential new drug targets for more effective antidepressant treatments. We have carried out a pilot study which analysed serum samples of MDD patients who received a series of ECT treatments over 4 weeks. Patients received only ECT treatments over the first two weeks and a combination of ECT and antidepressant drugs (AD) over the subsequent two weeks. Blood serum analyses were carried out using a combination of multiplex Human MAP® immunoassay and liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS(E)) profiling. This showed that ECT had a predominant acute effect on the levels of serum proteins and small molecules, with changes at the beginning of ECT treatment and after administration of the ECT+AD combination treatment. This suggested a positive interaction between the two types of treatment. Changed molecules included BDNF, CD40L, IL-8, IL-13, EGF, IGF-1, pancreatic polypeptide, SCF, sortilin-1 and others which have already been implicated in MDD pathophysiology. We conclude that ECT appears to exert mainly acute effects on serum molecules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Electronic address: vs308@cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Viktoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stelzhammer
authors.forename: Paul C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Guest
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rothermundt
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sondermann
authors.forename: Nikolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Michael
authors.forename: Emanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rahmoune
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahn
mesh_terms: D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D000099183:Sortilin
chemical_list: D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D016207:Cytokines; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D000099183:Sortilin; C583557:IGF1 protein, human; C579455:BDNF protein, human