title: Increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with major depressive disorder: A meta-analysis.
abstract: The regulation of neurotrophic factors plays an important role in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been shown to promote neurogenesis, neuroprotection, and influence synaptic transmission. Many studies have examined the VEGF levels in patients with depression, however the results have been inconsistent. In the current meta-analysis, we compared blood VEGF levels between MDD patients and control subjects (16 articles including 872 patients and 882 control subjects). The effect sizes of individual studies were synthesized using a random effect model. We found that the blood VEGF levels in the patients with MDD were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls (p<0.001), and the difference was negatively correlated with mean age (p=0.01). Other variables including proportion of female subjects, body mass index, severity of depression, duration of illness, and age at onset were not significantly correlated with the difference. Our results highlight that elevated blood VEGF levels may be a disease marker in patients with MDD. Further studies are needed to examine the relationship between VEGF levels in central and peripheral environments, and clarify the role of VEGF in the pathophysiology of MDD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Tsyr-Huey Mental Hospital, Kaohsiung Jen-Ai's Home, Kaohsiung', Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ping-Tao
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Tsyr-Huey Mental Hospital, Kaohsiung Jen-Ai's Home, Kaohsiung', Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Shian
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Tsyr-Huey Mental Hospital, Kaohsiung Jen-Ai's Home, Kaohsiung', Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Kuan
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Center for Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Electronic address: py1029@adm.cgmh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Pao-Yen
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
keywords: Depression; Meta-analysis; Neurotrophic factor; VEGF