Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is not associated with response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): A pilot study in drug resistant depressed patients

Serum Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels Following Electroconvulsive Therapy in Treatment-resistant Depressed Patients

“…If this were the case, the results of a previous meta-analysis 19) may be partly accounted for, since that meta-analysis analyzed data from the perspective of changes in total MADRS scores or total HAM-D scores with the relatively short measurement periods, as mentioned before. Also, the relatively short timing of BDNF measurement might have affected the results of the study by Fernandes et al 11) , in which no significant association was found between serum BDNF levels and remission or response using measurements at 1 day after the last ECT session. The methodology used in this study (i.e., analyzing the data in responders and non-responders separately with a relatively longer period of measurement) may have been useful to clarify the association between serum BDNF levels and clinical response to ECT in refractory-depressed patients.…”

“…Although changes in total MADRS or HAM-D scores after ECT provide important information, whether a patient responds or remits is more important for both patients and clinicians, since patients treated with ECT are usually treatment-resistant to antidepressant therapy. However, it must be noted that Fernandes et al 11) found no significant changes in serum BDNF level after ECT when data were analyzed according to response and remission at 1 day after the last ECT session.…”

“…Accordingly, BDNF activity in the CNS has been considered to represent neurophysiological changes associated with recovery of depression 3), 6) . Studies have measured peripheral (i.e., serum or plasma) levels of BDNF before and after ECT in depressive patients [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] . A recent meta-analysis by Brunon 19) found a significant increase in peripheral BDNF levels after ECT in depressive patients.…”

“…Nevertheless, that meta-analysis showed no significant association between increases in BDNF and improvement of depressive symptoms, which were analyzed by calculating the total Montgomery-Äsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) score. As previous studies measured peripheral BDNF levels [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15],17), 18) before ECT and within 1 week after the last ECT session, with the exception of two studies that measured 1 month after the last ECT session 7), 16) , a need for studies with a longer measurement period has been suggested 19) . On the other hand, a small number of studies have investigated changes in BDNF levels after ECT from the perspective of patient response or remission.…”

The Use of ECT and MST in treating depression

“…Some studies have found no association between improvement in depressive psycho-pathology after ECT, and changes in serum BDNF or other neurotrophic factors (Fernandes et al, 2009;Gronli et al, 2009). However, there have also been reports of positive association between serum BDNF and therapeutic effi cacy of ECT for depression (Piccinni et al, 2009;Viikki et al, 2010a).…”