title: Blood BDNF level is gender specific in severe depression.
abstract: Though the role of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a marker for major depressive disorder (MDD) and antidepressant efficacy has been widely studied, the role of BDNF in distinct groups of patients remains unclear. We evaluated the diagnostic value of BDNF as a marker of disease severity measured by HAM-D scores and antidepressants efficacy among MDD patients. Fifty-one patients who met DSM-IV criteria for MDD and were prescribed antidepressants and 38 controls participated in this study. BDNF in serum was measured at baseline, 1st, 2nd and 8th treatment weeks. Depression severity was evaluated using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). BDNF polymorphism rs6265 (val66met) was genotyped. We found a positive correlation between blood BDNF levels and severity of depression only among untreated women with severe MDD (HAM-D>24). Serum BDNF levels were lower in untreated MDD patients compared to control group. Antidepressants increased serum BDNF levels and reduced between-group differences after two weeks of treatment. No correlations were observed between BDNF polymorphism, depression severity, duration of illness, age and BDNF serum levels. Further supporting the role of BDNF in the pathology and treatment of MDD, we suggest that it should not be used as a universal biomarker for diagnosis of MDD in the general population. However, it has diagnostic value for the assessment of disease progression and treatment efficacy in individual patients.
authors.affiliation: Maale HaCarmel Mental Health Center, Tirat HaCarmel, affiliated to Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Anatoly
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kreinin
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel; Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Serah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lisson
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Elimelech
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nesher
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Maale HaCarmel Mental Health Center, Tirat HaCarmel, affiliated to Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bergman
authors.affiliation: The Nazareth Hospital, EMMS, affiliated with Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Nazareth, Israel.
authors.forename: Kamal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Farhat
authors.affiliation: The Nazareth Hospital, EMMS, affiliated with Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Nazareth, Israel.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Farah
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Epidemiology, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel; Clalit Health Services, National Cancer Control Center, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lejbkowicz
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Gal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yadid
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America.
authors.forename: Leon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Raskin
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koman
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinhasov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003710:Demography; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C579455:BDNF protein, human