학술논문
Converging Evidence Points to BDNF as Biomarker of Depressive Symptoms in Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders
Document Type
article
Author
Mirko Manchia; Ulker Isayeva; Roberto Collu; Diego Primavera; Luca Deriu; Edoardo Caboni; Maria Novella Iaselli; Davide Sundas; Massimo Tusconi; Federica Pinna; Pasquale Paribello; Maria Scherma; Claudia Pisanu; Anna Meloni; Clement C. Zai; Donatella Congiu; Alessio Squassina; Walter Fratta; Paola Fadda; Bernardo Carpiniello
Source
Brain Sciences, Vol 12, Iss 12, p 1666 (2022)
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
2076-3425
Abstract
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a key modulator of neuroplasticity and has an important role in determining the susceptibility to severe psychiatric disorder with a significant neurodevelopmental component such as major psychoses. Indeed, a potential association between BDNF serum levels and schizophrenia (SCZ) and schizoaffective disorder (SAD) has been tested in diverse studies and a considerable amount of them found reduced BDNF levels in these disorders. Here, we aimed at testing the association of BDNF serum levels with several demographic, clinical, and psychometric measures in 105 patients with SCZ and SAD, assessing the moderating effect of genetic variants within the BDNF gene. We also verified whether peripheral BDNF levels differed between patients with SCZ and SAD. Our findings revealed that BDNF serum levels are significantly lower in patients affected by SCZ and SAD presenting more severe depressive symptomatology. This finding awaits replication in future independent studies and points to BDNF as a possible prognostic indicator in major psychoses.