Reduced Serum Nerve Growth Factor in Patients With Late-Life Depression

doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2013.01.014

The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

Volume 21, Issue 5, May 2013, Pages 493-496

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.01.014 Get rights and content

Introduction

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is one of the most abundant neurotrophic factors in the central nervous system and has been involved in several neuropsychiatric disorders.

Methods

We recruited 77 age- and gender-matched elderly subjects (38 with late-life depression, 17 with previous major depressive episode, and 22 healthy subjects in the comparison group). Serum concentration of NGF was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

NGF levels were significantly reduced in the depressed patients (p = 0.002) as compared with healthy elderly controls. Elderly control subjects with previous depressive episode also showed a significant reduction in NGF levels as compared with controls (p <0.01); NGF levels were similar between patients with current depressive episode and previous depressive episode (p = 0.2).

Conclusion

The present findings provide additional evidence to the relevance of reduced neurotrophic support in the pathophysiology of late-life depression. Also, reduced serum NGF level may be a state marker of depression in elderly subjects.

Section snippets

Participants

Thirty-eight elderly subjects with current major depressive episode (MDE) were included in this study. All subjects were outpatients observed at the Psychogeriatric Program from the Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM-27) at the Institute of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. They underwent comprehensive clinical, psychiatric, and cognitive assessments and were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical

Results

There were no significant differences in gender distribution and age between groups. Nonetheless, patients with current MDE had worse cognitive performance as indicated by significantly lower Cambridge Cognitive Test and Mini-Mental State Examination scores (Table 1). Serum NGF levels were significantly lower in patients with current MDE and those with previous MDE as compared with control subjects (Table 1).

Post-hoc analysis showed that patients with previous and current MDE showed no

Discussion

NGF levels were significantly reduced in the elderly subjects with a previous history of major depression, in a similar fashion as found in patients presenting with a current depressive episode. This suggests that reduction in serum NGF levels may be a trait-dependent marker of LLD. The reduction in NGF levels observed in these subjects may indicate a significant disruption in neurotrophic regulatory mechanisms that take place during the depressive episode and do not completely recover despite

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Brief ReportReduced Serum Nerve Growth Factor in Patients With Late-Life Depression

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Section snippets

Participants

Results

Discussion

J Allergy Clin Immunol

Neurobiol Aging

J Psychiatr Res

Brain Res

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry

Biol Psychiatry

Pharmacol Ther

Brief Report
Reduced Serum Nerve Growth Factor in Patients With Late-Life Depression