Department of Neuroscience & Pharmacology, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
World J Biol Psychiatry. 2011 Sep;12(6):444-54. doi: 10.3109/15622975.2011.562244. Epub 2011 Apr 12.
Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in neuroplasticity, and in the homeostatic regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. It also has a role in stress responsivity and reward processing. On the basis of its involvement in these various processes, BDNF can be hypothesized to be an important factor in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). This study meta-analytically summarizes investigations of serum BDNF concentrations in people currently ill with AN, in comparison to healthy controls.
Seven studies measuring BDNF in serum of individuals with AN (n=155) and healthy controls (n=174) were identified and included in the meta-analysis of the mean differences between case and control groups.
This study confirms that AN is associated with decreased serum BDNF concentrations, in comparison to healthy controls. The combined effect size (standardized mean difference, SMD) was large (SMD=-0.96; 95% CI -1.33 to -0.59; P<0.001). Significant heterogeneity of effect sizes was identified (I(2)=58.3%; P<0.001), which emerged as being primarily attributable to the first published study on the investigated association.
The present meta-analytical summary of studies measuring circulating BDNF concentrations in women with AN and healthy controls confirms that it is significantly reduced in this patient group. Difficulties associated with the measurement of BDNF have been identified and potential confounding factors have been discussed. Current data do not allow inferences to be made about causal links between levels of circulating BDNF and AN. However, possible explanations for the relationship between BDNF and AN have been presented.
脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）参与神经可塑性，以及食物摄入和能量消耗的体内平衡调节。它在应激反应和奖励处理中也有作用。基于其在这些不同过程中的作用，可以假设 BDNF 是厌食症（AN）发展和维持的重要因素。本研究通过荟萃分析总结了目前患有 AN 的个体与健康对照者的血清 BDNF 浓度的研究。
确定了 7 项研究，测量了 AN 患者（n=155）和健康对照组（n=174）血清中的 BDNF，并将其纳入病例组和对照组之间平均差异的荟萃分析。
本研究证实，与健康对照组相比，AN 患者的血清 BDNF 浓度降低。合并效应大小（标准化均数差，SMD）较大（SMD=-0.96；95%CI-1.33 至-0.59；P<0.001）。确定了效应大小的显著异质性（I²=58.3%；P<0.001），这主要归因于首次发表的关于该研究关联的研究。
本研究对测量 AN 患者和健康对照组循环 BDNF 浓度的研究进行了荟萃分析，证实了该患者组中 BDNF 明显降低。已经确定了与 BDNF 测量相关的困难，并讨论了潜在的混杂因素。目前的数据不允许对循环 BDNF 水平与 AN 之间的因果关系进行推断。然而，已经提出了 BDNF 与 AN 之间关系的可能解释。
