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Are BDNF and Stress Levels Related to Antidepressant Response?
Mónica Flores-Ramos1, Andrés Vega-Rosas2, Nadia Palomera-Garfias3
1Laboratorio de Epidemiología Clínica, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Calzada México Xochimilco #101, Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco, Tlalpan, Mexico City C.P. 14370, Mexico.
Abstract:
Antidepressant response is a multifactorial process related to biological and environmental factors, where brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may play an important role in modulating depressive and anxious symptoms. We aimed to analyze how BDNF impacts antidepressant response, considering the levels of anxiety.
Methods:
A total of 40 depressed adults were included. We evaluated initial serum BDNF, anxiety through the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the severity of depressive symptoms by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Participants received antidepressant treatment for 8 weeks, and response to treatment was evaluated according to the final HDRS scores.
Results:
Basal BDNF was higher in responders compared to non-responder depressed patients, in addition to being inversely associated with the severity of anxiety and depression.
Conclusions:
Baseline BDNF serum is an adequate predictive factor for response to antidepressant treatment with SSRI, with lower pre-treatment levels of BDNF associated with higher anxiety symptoms after treatment. Stress levels could influence the response to treatment, but its association was not conclusive.
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