Depression Treatment: Decreased Serum Levels of Mature Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), but Not Its Precursor proBDNF, in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder.

Decreased Serum Levels of Mature Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), but Not Its Precursor proBDNF, in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

PLoS One. 2012; 7(8): e42676
Yoshida T, Ishikawa M, Niitsu T, Nakazato M, Watanabe H, Shiraishi T, Shiina A, Hashimoto T, Kanahara N, Hasegawa T, Enohara M, Kimura A, Iyo M, Hashimoto K

Meta-analyses have identified serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a potential biomarker for major depressive disorder (MDD). However, at the time, commercially available human ELISA kits are unable to distinguish between proBDNF (precursor of BDNF) and mature BDNF because of limited BDNF antibody specificity. In this study, we examined whether serum levels of proBDNF, mature BDNF, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which converts proBDNF to mature BDNF, are altered in patients with MDD.Sixty-nine patients with MDD and 78 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects were enrolled. Patients were evaluated using 17 items on the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Cognitive impairment was evaluated using the CogState battery. Serum levels of proBDNF, mature BDNF, and MMP-9 were measured using ELISA kits. Serum levels of mature BDNF in patients with MDD were significantly lower than those of normal controls. In contrast, there was no difference in the serum levels of proBDNF and MMP-9 between patients and normal controls. While neither proBDNF nor mature BDNF serum levels was associated with clinical variables, there were significant correlations between MMP-9 serum levels and the severity of depression, quality of life scores, and social function scores in patients.These findings suggest that mature BDNF may serve as a biomarker for MDD, and that MMP-9 may play a role in the pathophysiology of MDD. Further studies using larger sample sizes will be needed to investigate these results.
HubMed – depression

A neural network model of ventriloquism effect and aftereffect.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

PLoS One. 2012; 7(8): e42503
Magosso E, Cuppini C, Ursino M

Presenting simultaneous but spatially discrepant visual and auditory stimuli induces a perceptual translocation of the sound towards the visual input, the ventriloquism effect. General explanation is that vision tends to dominate over audition because of its higher spatial reliability. The underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. We address this question via a biologically inspired neural network. The model contains two layers of unimodal visual and auditory neurons, with visual neurons having higher spatial resolution than auditory ones. Neurons within each layer communicate via lateral intra-layer synapses; neurons across layers are connected via inter-layer connections. The network accounts for the ventriloquism effect, ascribing it to a positive feedback between the visual and auditory neurons, triggered by residual auditory activity at the position of the visual stimulus. Main results are: i) the less localized stimulus is strongly biased toward the most localized stimulus and not vice versa; ii) amount of the ventriloquism effect changes with visual-auditory spatial disparity; iii) ventriloquism is a robust behavior of the network with respect to parameter value changes. Moreover, the model implements Hebbian rules for potentiation and depression of lateral synapses, to explain ventriloquism aftereffect (that is, the enduring sound shift after exposure to spatially disparate audio-visual stimuli). By adaptively changing the weights of lateral synapses during cross-modal stimulation, the model produces post-adaptive shifts of auditory localization that agree with in-vivo observations. The model demonstrates that two unimodal layers reciprocally interconnected may explain ventriloquism effect and aftereffect, even without the presence of any convergent multimodal area. The proposed study may provide advancement in understanding neural architecture and mechanisms at the basis of visual-auditory integration in the spatial realm.
HubMed – depression

Emergency Department Use by Released Prisoners with HIV: An Observational Longitudinal Study.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

PLoS One. 2012; 7(8): e42416
Meyer JP, Qiu J, Chen NE, Larkin GL, Altice FL

Many people living with HIV access healthcare systems through the emergency department (ED), and increased ED use may be indicative of disenfranchisement with primary HIV care, under-managed comorbid disease, or coincide with use of other healthcare resources. The goal of this study was to investigate ED use by HIV-infected prisoners transitioning to communities.We evaluated ED use by 151 HIV-infected released prisoners who were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of directly administered versus self-administered antiretroviral therapy in Connecticut. Primary outcomes were quantity and type of ED visits and correlates of ED use were evaluated with multivariate models by Poisson regression.In the 12 months post-release, there were 227 unique ED contacts made by 85/151 (56%) subjects. ED visits were primarily for acute febrile syndromes (32.6%) or pain (20.3%), followed by substance use issues (19.4%), trauma (18%), mental illness (11%), and social access issues (4.4%). Compared to those not utilizing the ED, users were more likely to be white, older, and unmarried, with less trust in their physician and poorer perceived physical health but greater social support. In multivariate models, ED use was correlated with moderate to severe depression (IRR?=?1.80), being temporarily housed (IRR?=?0.54), and alcohol addiction severity (IRR?=?0.21) but not any surrogates of HIV severity.EDs are frequent sources of care after prison-release with visits often reflective of social and psychiatric instability. Future interventions should attempt to fill resource gaps, engage released prisoners in continuous HIV care, and address these substantial needs.
HubMed – depression

A Parent's Depression

Filed under: Depression Treatment

It is also possible for the mother's treatment to have an acute effect on her offspring. Several recent studies closely monitoring depressed mothers and their children show that a successful remission of a mother's depression during treatment with …
Read more on New York Times

In Parents of Premature Babies, Feelings of Guilt May Lead to Depression

Filed under: Depression Treatment

All of these negative emotions can cause many parents of premature babies to experience anxiety, depression, and even posttraumatic stress. Although there has been some research examining the effect of premature birth on parents, little is known about …
Read more on GoodTherapy.org (blog)

The humble ATP precursor, creatine, doubled rate of depression recovery in U …

Filed under: Depression Treatment

This would be particularly relevant for the state of Utah, Dr. Renshaw notes (where the depression incidence rate is particularly “crippling and common” – roughly 25% higher than for the rest of the U.S., amounting to an estimated yearly cost in …
Read more on ProHealth

Magnetic Adjustable Headband for Headaches and Head Band for Migraines
The Magnetic Migraine & Pain Relief Therapeutic wrap is a very easy to use and functional strap that is placed around the head, mu…

Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders
Includes CD-ROM with Reproducible Forms!This one-of-a-kind resource provides the busy practitioner with empirically supported trea…

Treatment Resistant Depression: A Roadmap for Effective Care
This unique book presents the treatment “roadmap” implemented by the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center’s Trea…

Find More Depression Treatment Information…