title: Significance of low plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in patients with heart failure.
abstract: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a member of the neurotrophin family, which regulates neuronal differentiation and functions. Low levels of BDNF are because of psychological stress and potentially play a role in the pathogenesis of depression and cognition disorders. Because psychological stress and depression are associated with increased risk of heart failure (HF), the pathogenic link between HF and psychological status has attracted clinical attention. We hypothesized that plasma BDNF levels might be decreased in patients with HF and that BDNF could be a key factor associated with HF. We evaluated plasma BDNF levels in 242 patients with HF and 80 subjects without HF who are age and gender matched. Plasma BDNF levels were significantly lower in patients with HF (3,712 pg/ml [2,124 to 6,180]) than those without HF (7,247 pg/ml [5,388 to 9,255], p <0.001) and lower in patients with HF with the New York Heart Association functional class III than class I (p = 0.01) and class II (p <0.001). Log BDNF levels correlated negatively with log B-type natriuretic peptide (r = -0.203, p = 0.03) in patients with HF. Of 61 acute decompensated patients with HF, plasma BDNF levels were significantly higher at discharge (4,194 pg/ml [2,356 to 6,916]) compared with those at admission (2,749 pg/ml [1,380 to 4,161], p = 0.003). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified log BDNF level as a significant correlate with the presence of HF (odds ratio 0.82; 95% confidence interval 0.76 to 0.91, p <0.001). In conclusion, plasma BDNF levels were decreased in patients with HF and associated with HF severity. BDNF could be a potentially clinically useful biomarker of HF reflecting possible cardio-neuronal linkage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan; Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takashio
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan; Cardiovascular Division, Diabetes Care Center, Jinnouchi Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan. Electronic address: ssugiyam@kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamuro
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahama
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugano
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Izumiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hokimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Minamino
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Anzai
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan; Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogawa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor