Long Term Effects of SSRI Antidepressants on Levels of Different Serum Growth Factors in Patients with Depression
Long Term Effects of SSRI Antidepressants on Levels of Different Serum Growth Factors in Patients with Depression
En Zhang1, Ming Zhu1, Wenli Zhu1, Wei Xiong1, Zhongfei Huang1, Xin Qiao2 and Chuanfu Song1*
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of long-term use of SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) antidepressants on serum nerve growth factor (NGF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels. A total of 51 patients with depression who were diagnosed for the first time and did not receive drug treatment in our hospital were selected as the depression group, and 42 healthy people who underwent physical examination in our hospital during the same period were selected as healthy controls. We compared the serum levels of NGF, GDNF, VEGF, and IGF-1 between the two groups. The patients in the depression group were treated with SSRI antidepressants for 8 weeks, and the changes in serum growth factors and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) scores were compared before and after treatment. In addition, Spearman’s method was used to analyze the correlation between the changes of serum growth factors levels and HAMD-17 score in patients with depression. After treatment, the levels of serum NGF and GDNF in the depression group were raised than those before treatment (P<0.05), and the levels of serum VEGF and IGF-1 were reduced than those before treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, the total score of HAMD-17 and the scores of sleep factor, cognitive impairment factor, block factor and anxiety somatization factor in the depression group were reduced than those before treatment (P<0.05). The change rates of serum NGF and GDNF concentrations in the depression group were positively correlated with the reduction rate of HAMD-17 and the reduction rate of each factor (P<0.05). It was concluded that decreased levels of growth factors may be related to the onset of depression in patients, which is a biomarker of depression and can be used as a target for clinical antidepressant therapy.
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