Relationship between Serum BDNF Levels and Depressive Mood in Subacute Stroke Patients: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the potential of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a biomarker in poststroke depressive mood in subacute stroke patients. Thirty-eight subacute stroke patients were recruited in this study. All participants underwent the standard rehabilitation program that included 2 h of physical therapy daily and 1 h of occupational therapy five days a week. The rehabilitation period lasted two weeks during the subacute stroke phase. We measured the serum BDNF, proBDNF, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 before and one and two weeks after the standard rehabilitation program. In addition, all participants were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF) for depressive mood at three time points. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to determine the relationship between serum BDNF levels and the GDS-SF. The GDS-SF showed significant improvement during the standard rehabilitation program period (p < 0.05). The GDS-SF was significantly correlated with serum BDNF levels at each time point (p < 0.05). These results suggest that serum BDNF may be used as a biomarker for depressive mood in subacute stroke patients. However, further studies with larger study populations are needed to clarify these results.

Novel TMS for Stroke and Depression (NoTSAD): Accelerated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a Safe and Effective Treatment for Post-stroke Depression

“…Therapeutic benefit is likely achieved through multiple mechanisms enhancing neuroplasticity, increasing available concentrations of critical neurotransmitters, and reinforcing emotionally positive connectivity networks while diminishing connectivity in emotionally negative loops (26)(27)(28). Low levels of peripheral and central brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) have been observed in depressed individuals as well as those who develop PSD (29)(30)(31)(32)(33). Glutamate is emerging as another biomarker for treatment response with increased radiolabeled activity in the DLPFC following stimulation (34).…”

Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor and post‐stroke depression

“…In From a meta-analysis of 13 studies, depressive symptoms after stroke were found to be lower immediately after 4 or more weeks of exercise (Eng & Reime, 2014). In a recent study on 38 stroke patients, 2 weeks of rehabilitation therapy significantly ameliorated depressive symptoms, which was positively correlated with serum BDNF levels (Chang, Shin, Lee, Kim, & Kim, 2018). Well-designed trials with larger populations are needed to clarify optimal exercise programming and long-term outcomes in PSD.…”

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor as a Clinical Biomarker in Predicting the Development of Post-Stroke Depression: A Review of Evidence

“…There was no correlation between BDNF level and gender (p = .211) or age (p = .326) [ 14 ]. Chang et al [ 15 ] studied 45 patients with subacute stroke and found that serum BDNF levels were significantly and positively correlated with scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale short form (GDS-SF) at each of three time points: before the start of the study, one week, and two weeks after the clinical trial (r = .480, p = .013; r = .477, p = .014; r = .480, p = .013, respectively). No significant association between serum levels of mature BDNF and stroke severity was found [ 15 ].…”

“…Chang et al [ 15 ] studied 45 patients with subacute stroke and found that serum BDNF levels were significantly and positively correlated with scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale short form (GDS-SF) at each of three time points: before the start of the study, one week, and two weeks after the clinical trial (r = .480, p = .013; r = .477, p = .014; r = .480, p = .013, respectively). No significant association between serum levels of mature BDNF and stroke severity was found [ 15 ]. Han et al [ 16 ] studied 162 consecutive stroke patients without any previous history of depression and anxiety and found that a low serum concentration of BDNF was a valuable predictor for the occurrence of PSD.…”

“…Finally, five of the seven papers reviewed reported the percentages of PSD and non-PSD patient samples who experienced left vs. right hemisphere strokes (the exceptions were Li et al, 2014 [ 14 ], who did not report information about lesion location, and Chang et al, 2018 [ 15 ], who did not separate the sample into PSD vs. non-PSD patients). Collapsing the samples together, PSD patients presented with left hemisphere strokes slightly less often than those who did not experience PSD (overall percentages: left hemisphere stroke in non-PSD patients = 43.2%, SD = 10.61 [range 25.4% - 52.8%]; in PSD patients = 41.72%, SD = 10.96 [range = 30.6 - 54.3]).…”