May nesfatin-1 be a state marker in major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation?

The best known effects of nesfatin-1 are on appetite and metabolic regulation. Moreover, several research suggest that nesfatin-1 play a role in stress responses. This molecule may be involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders and suicidal behavior. We compared nesfatin-1 levels between depressed patients with suicidal ideation (n = 32, mean ± SD, 1,40 ± 0.11), without suicidal ideation(n = 31, 1.46 ± 0.14) and healthy controls (n = 32, 1.52 ± 0.13). Suicidal ideation was assessed with the Suicide Probability Scale, Scale for Suicide Ideation and depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Blood samples were collected to measure serum nesfatin-1levels by using ELISA method. The study revealed that serum nesfatin-1 levels were significantly lower in MDD with suicidal ideation than in healthy volunteers (p < 0.001). There were a negative correlation between the scores of suicidal ideation and nesfatin-1 levels in MDD with SI group (r = -0.215; p = 0.016). In the future, nesfatin-1 levels may one day be applied in predicting and monitoring patients' suicide risk. Further prospective studies are required to elucidate this potential association.