Relationship Between Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Cognitive Function in Methamphetamine-Dependent Patients

Methamphetamine (METH) is a neurotoxic substance that can induce neurodegeneration in the human brain. Consequently chronic METH use can affect the cognitive functions in METH-dependent patients. In this study, we aimed to identify the relationship between cognitive function and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which reflects the status of neuroadaptive changes, by characterizing the effects on the cognitive function of METH-dependent patients.

A total of 38 METH-dependent patients participated in this study. BDNF levels were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We also examined the clinical features based on the measurements of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease-Korean version (CERAD-K). Finally, the relationships between various parts of CERAD-K and BDNF were compared with one another.

METH-dependent patients were able to conduct most parts of CERAD-K stably. Among the parts of CERAD-K, only trail-making test part B was correlated with BDNF.

The trail-making test is specific for evaluating executive function; therefore, BDNF may play an essential role in detecting neurocognitive functional decline in METH dependence.