Serum level of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) among patients with bipolar disorder.
BACKGROUND
There is a growing body of evidence that serum brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is altered during the episodes of bipolar disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate serum BDNF levels in bipolar disorder patients during manic and depressive episodes and its clinical utility in bipolar disorder compared to other psychiatric disorders.


METHODS
The study was conducted on 80 Egyptian patients, who were classified into 4 groups: group Ia (25 patients with depressive episodes), group Ib (25 patients with manic episodes), group II (15 patients having Schizophrenia) as pathological controls and group III (15 healthy subjects) as controls. All subjects were diagnosed according to DSM-IV, assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale for depression (HAM-D), and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). sBDNF concentrations were measured using the quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique.


RESULTS
sBDNF showed significantly lower levels in patients with depressive episodes or manic episodes. The best cut-off for sBDNF in discriminating depressed patient from healthy control was ≤33,000pg/ml (AUC=0.891, sensitivity of 84%, and specificity of 80%). Moreover, the best cut-off for sBDNF in discriminating mania patients׳ group from healthy control was ≤29,500pg/ml, (AUC=0.984, asensitivity of 96%, and specificity of 86.7%).


CONCLUSIONS
Only a small sample size was considered which included only drug free patients. BDNF was measured in serum not in CSF or brain tissue.


CONCLUSIONS
Low sBDNF levels are strongly associated with active phases of bipolar disorder, in depressive and manic episodes.
Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, PO Box 11657, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: menan74@yahoo.com.
Menan A
MA
Rabie
Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Manal
M
Mohsen
Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, PO Box 11657, Cairo, Egypt.
Mona
M
Ibrahim
Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Rania
R
El-Sawy Mahmoud
D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000097:blood*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004534:Egypt; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
BDNF; Bipolar