Zhang Xiaobin, Ru Bu, Sha Weiwei, Xin Wang, Zhou Honghui, Zhang Yumei
Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated WuTaiShan Hospital of Medical College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
Asia Pac Psychiatry. 2014 Sep;6(3):302-7. doi: 10.1111/appy.12120. Epub 2014 Jan 17.
Some evidence suggests that neurotrophic growth factor systems might be involved in the etiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a neurotrophic factor from the transforming growth factor-β family that plays a role in the development and function of the brain. This study aimed to test whether GDNF in serum was abnormal in MDD, and whether it was related to the cognitive impairment of MDD.
Serum GDNF levels in MDD patients (n = 32) and normal controls (n = 32) were measured with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. All subjects were assessed for performance on the Wisconsin card-sorting test (WCST).
Performance on the WCST in MDD patients was significantly poorer than that in controls. Serum GDNF levels in MDD patients were significantly decreased compared to that of the control subjects (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the decrease in the serum GDNF levels positively correlated with performance in the WCST-% CONC and negatively with performance in the WCST-P in MDD patients.
The findings suggest that MDD patients have extensive impairments of executive functioning, and lower serum GDNF might be involved in the pathogenesis of MDD, which may be associated with the cognitive dysfunction in MDD patients.
一些证据表明，神经营养生长因子系统可能参与了重度抑郁症（MDD）的病因。胶质细胞源性神经营养因子（GDNF）是一种来自转化生长因子-β家族的神经营养因子，在大脑的发育和功能中发挥作用。本研究旨在检测MDD患者血清中的GDNF是否异常，以及它是否与MDD的认知障碍有关。
采用酶联免疫吸附测定法测量MDD患者（n = 32）和正常对照者（n = 32）血清中的GDNF水平。所有受试者均接受威斯康星卡片分类测验（WCST）。
MDD患者在WCST上的表现明显比对照组差。与对照组相比，MDD患者血清中的GDNF水平显著降低（P < 0.001）。此外，MDD患者血清GDNF水平的降低与WCST-% CONC的表现呈正相关，与WCST-P的表现呈负相关。
研究结果表明，MDD患者存在广泛的执行功能障碍，血清GDNF水平降低可能参与了MDD的发病机制，这可能与MDD患者的认知功能障碍有关。
