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Background: Although some core personality variables are known to be characteristic of unipolar or bipolar depression, few studies have compared the personality profile between these two disorders.Methods: Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was employed to assess the personality of 36 depressed patients with bipolar II disorder (BPII), 90 patients with unipolar major depressive disorder (UP), and 306 healthy controls. The TCI was administered during the depressive episode in BPII and UP patients so that the results can be applied in a clinical setting.Results: Significantly higher scores in harm avoidance (pb0.0001) and lower scores in selfdirectedness (pb0.0001) and cooperativeness (pb0.05) were observed in both BPII and UP patients compared to controls. Lower novelty seeking in UP patients compared to BPII patients and controls was observed in females (pb0.0001, pb0.01, respectively).A significant difference in self-transcendence score was observed between BPII and UP patients in females (pb0.0005), with higher scores in BPII (p=0.009) and lower scores in UP (p=0.046) patients compared to controls. A logistic regression model predicted BPII 3 3 in depressed females based on novelty seeking and self-transcendence scores with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 73%, but did not accurately predict BPII in males.Limitations: Patients in our study were limited to those receiving outpatient treatments, and bipolar patients were limited to those with BPII.Conclusions: Novelty seeking and self-transcendence scores of TCI might be useful in the differentiation of UP and BPII in female patients.

BACKGROUND: Mood disorders are associated with various neurocognitive deficits.

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Altered neurotrophin functions have been implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). Previously, we reported an association between MDD and a missense polymorphism (Ser205Leu: rs2072446) of the gene encoding the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75 NTR ). However, contradictive negative results have also been reported. This study tried to replicate the association in an independent sample. Subjects were 668 patients with MDD and 1130 healthy controls. The proportion of individuals carrying the Leu205 allele was significantly decreased in the patients than in the controls (v 2 ¼5.3, d.f.¼1, P¼0.021, odds ratio (OR) 0.74, 95% confidential interval (CI) 0.58-0.96). When allele frequencies were compared, the Leu205 allele was significantly reduced in the patients than in the controls (v 2 ¼4.4, d.f.¼1, P¼0.037, OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.61-0.99). When men and women were examined separately, there was a significant difference in genotype and allele distributions in women (genotype: v 2 ¼8.3, d.f.¼1, P¼0.0039, OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43-0.85; allele: v 2 ¼7.3, d.f.¼1, P¼0.0069, OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.47-0.89), but not in men. The present study provided support for the previously reported association between the Ser205Leu polymorphism of the p75 NTR gene and MDD, indicating that the Leu205 allele has a protective effect against the development of MDD, particularly in women.