Brain-derived neurotrophic factor depression

MacQueen GM, Ramakrishnan K, CroU SD, Siuciak JA, Yu G, Young LT, Fahnestock M (2001) Performance of heterozygous brain-derived neurotrophic factor knockout mice on behavioral analogues of anxiety, nociception, and depression. Behav Neurosci 115 1145-1153... 

CREB expression occurs (Nibuya et al., 1995, 1996). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is an attractive candidate for mediating antidepressant action. In addition to its known effects on neuronal survival and differentiation, it also has been shown to play a role in synaptic plasticity. Furthermore, administration of BDNF directly into rat hippocampus has been demonstrated to have antidepressant-like action in several models of depression (Siuciak et ah, 1996). 

Montgomery SA, Brown RE, Clark M Economic analysis of treating depression with nefazodone v. imipramine. Br J Psychiatry 168 768-771, 1996 Monti JM Effect of a reversible monoamine oxidase-A inhibitor (moclobemide) on sleep of depressed patients. Br J Psychiatry Suppl 155 61-65, 1989 Monti JM, Alterwain P, Monti D The effects of moclobemide on nocturnal sleep of depressed patients. J Affect Disord 20 201-208, 1990 Montkowski A, Holsboer F Absence of cognitive and memory deficits in transgenic mice with heterozygous disrupt of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene. J Psychiatr Res [in press)... 

Ampakines are drugs that potentiate currents mediated by AMPA-type glutamate receptors. In behavioral tests, ampakines are effective in correcting behaviors in various animal models of schizophrenia and depression. They protect neurons against neurotoxic insults, in part by mobilizing growth factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). 

The neurotrophic hypothesis of major depression. Changes in trophic factors (especially brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF)... 

Individuals with the short form of the serotonin transporter have a poorer response to lithium (55). The short form of the serotonin transporter is a genetic polymorphism that increases the risk of depression in the setting of adversity (56,57,58) and reduces the likelihood of a response to antidepressant treatment, and is therefore associated with a poorer outcome (59,60,61,62). Similarly, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene that encodes brain-derived neurotrophic factor (the val66met SNP of BDNF) has been associated with a poor response to lithium (63). This SNP is over-represented among patients with rapid cycling (64), who are less likely to respond well to lithium. 

Karege, E, Ferret, G., Bondolfi, G., Schwald, M., Bertschy, G., Aubry, J. (2001). Decreased serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in major depressed patients. Psychiatry Research, 109(2002), 143-148. 

Mackin P, Watson S, Ferrier N. The neurobiology of depression focus on cortisol, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and their interactions. Depression Mind Body 2005 2 11-18. 

Eisch AJ, Bolanos CA, de Wit J. Simonak RD. Pudiak CM, Barrot M, Nestler EJ. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the ventral midbrain-nucleus accumbens pathway a role in depression. Biol. Psychiatry. 2003 54 994-1005. 

Shimizu E, Hashimoto K, Okamura N, Koike K, Komatsu N, Kumakiri C, Nazakato M, Watanabe H, Shinoda N, Okada S, lyo M. Alterations of serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in depressed patients with or without antidepressants. Biol. Psychiatry 2003 54 70-75. 

Shiriyama Y, Chen ACH, Nakagawa S, Russell DS, Duman RS. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor produces antidepressant effects in behavioral models of depression. J. Neurosci. 2002 22 3251-3261. 

Furthermore, long-term ECT treatment, as with most of the various antidepressant modalities, is associated with increased and continuous expression of certain neurotrophic factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The role of these factors in depression is discussed in detail in Sections 2.1 and 2.3. 

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