title: Altered serum fatty acid composition in geriatric depression.
abstract: Fatty acids (FA), mainly polyunsaturated (PUFA) of n-3 or n-6 types, may influence neuropsychobiological processes. Decreased levels of n-3 PUFA have been shown to be related to major depression and supplementation of n-3 PUFA seems to contribute to improved depression treatment outcome. The profiles of serum FA profiles in patients with geriatric depression have not been thoroughly studied yet. The present study investigated the FA profiles of patients with geriatric depression and of mentally healthy elderly individuals. Serum FA profiles of 36 inpatients with geriatric depression who fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for unipolar major depression were compared with those of 37 control subjects. Patients with geriatric depression, irrespective of gender, exhibited lower total FAs, as well as significantly lower concentrations of total n-3 PUFA and eicosapentaenoic acid, though the groups did not differ with regard to Body Mass Index. The findings of the present study point to an association between lower FA serum levels and geriatric depression. Further investigations with larger samples and dietetic interventions may provide deeper insights into the role of eicosapentaenoic acid and total n-3 PUFA in the development and treatment of geriatric depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany. ivo.marx@med.uni-rostock.de.
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.|Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Rion, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alexopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Irmisch
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LVR-Klinikum Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Savvas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Topalidis
authors.affiliation: Center of Excellence for Nanostructured Materials (CENMAT), INSTM, Unit of Trieste, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Zois
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Syrgiannis
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Herpertz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cohrs
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005227:Fatty Acids
keywords: Depression; Fatty acids; Geriatric