Plasma Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels in First-Episode and Recurrent Major Depression and before and after Bright Light Therapy in Treatment-Resistant Depression

Biljana Kosanovic Rajacic; Marina Sagud; Drazen Begic; Matea Nikolac Perkovic; Anja Dvojkovic; Lana Ganoci; Nela Pivac

doi:10.3390/biom13091425

Plasma Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels in First-Episode and Recurrent Major Depression and before and after Bright Light Therapy in Treatment-Resistant Depression

Biomolecules. 2023 Sep 20;13(9):1425. doi: 10.3390/biom13091425.

Authors

Biljana Kosanovic Rajacic¹, Marina Sagud^{1

2}, Drazen Begic^{1

2}, Matea Nikolac Perkovic³, Anja Dvojkovic⁴, Lana Ganoci⁵, Nela Pivac^{3

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department for Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
² School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
³ Laboratory for Molecular Neuropsychiatry, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruder Boskovic Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
⁴ University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapce, 10090 Zagreb, Croatia.
⁵ Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Division for Pharmacogenomics and Therapy Individualization, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
⁶ University of Applied Sciences Hrvatsko Zagorje Krapina, 49000 Krapina, Croatia.

Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is implicated in the etiology and treatment response in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, peripheral BDNF concentrations have not been compared across different MDD stages. Bright light therapy (BLT) offers some potential in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but its effects on BDNF levels are unknown. This study included a cross-sectional analysis of plasma BDNF concentration in females with TRD, unmedicated MDD patients, and healthy controls (HC), and measurements of longitudinal BLT effects on plasma BDNF levels in TRD patients. The present study included 55 drug-naïve, first-episode patients, 25 drug-free recurrent-episode MDD patients, 71 HC participants, and 54 TRD patients. Patients were rated by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD)-17 and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Patients with TRD received BLT during 4 weeks. The total HAMD-17 and MADRS scores decreased following BLT. All patient groups had lower plasma BDNF than HC, but BDNF levels did not differ between first- and recurrent-episode BDNF patients and TRD patients before or after BLT. However, responders and remitters to BLT had higher post-treatment plasma BDNF concentrations than patients who did not achieve response or remission. The changes in plasma BDNF levels may be candidates for biomarkers of treatment response to BLT in TRD patients.

Keywords: brain-derived neurotrophic factor; bright light therapy; major depressive disorder; plasma concentration; remission; treatment response; treatment-resistant depression.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor* / blood
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor* / chemistry
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression
Depressive Disorder, Major* / therapy
Female
Humans
Phototherapy

Substances

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

Grants and funding

This research was funded by University of Zagreb, project: The influence of religiosity on treatment outcome in depression: clinical and biochemical parameters, grant number BM126, led by Marina Sagud, and partly by the Croatian Science Foundation research, grant number IPS-2022-02-2497, led by Matea Nikolac Perkovic.