title: Increased serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels during opiate withdrawal.
abstract: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of opiate addiction. Both increased and decreased serum BDNF levels have been reported in heroin addicts. Moreover, the role of BDNF in heroin-dependent patients during withdrawal has not been studied. This study aimed to explore the differences in serum BDNF levels of heroin addicts and healthy controls, and investigate the changes of serum BDNF levels in heroin addicts at baseline and at one month after heroin cessation. Seventy-two heroin-dependent patients and ninety age- and gender-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. We measured serum BDNF levels at baseline (both heroin addicts and healthy controls) and one month after heroin cessation (heroin addicts only). A total of 37 (51.4%) heroin addicts completed the one-month study. We found that baseline serum BDNF levels were significantly higher in heroin addicts compared to controls (F=36.5, p=0.001). There was no difference in serum BDNF levels among heroin addicts at baseline and one month after heroin cessation (F=1.101, p=0.301). These results indicate that BDNF may play a critical role in the course of opiate addiction and withdrawal.
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, PR China; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Harris County Psychiatric Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: zhangxy9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: XiangYang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: JingYan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: YuLing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: YouDan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: HaiWei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: WenXiu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: ShengZhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony William
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Zoghbi
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: WenJie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China. Electronic address: hjc@wzmc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: JinCai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D003932:Heroin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D003932:Heroin
keywords: Addiction; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Opiate; Withdrawal