Lu Ru-Band, Lee Sheng-Yu, Wang Tzu-Yun, Chang Yun-Hsuan, Chen Po-See, Yang Yen-Kuang, Hong Jau-Shyong, Chen Shiou-Lan
Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Behavioral Medicine, NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan; Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.
Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017 Oct 1;179:139-145. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.06.035. Epub 2017 Jul 27.
Long-term heroin addicts have low plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. However, the mechanisms and effects of systemic disturbances of BDNF caused by heroin remain unclear.
Blood platelet might be a source of neurotrophic factors like BDNF and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. Thus, we investigated the effects of heroin on platelets, BDNF and TGF-β1, the association between blood platelets, BDNF, TGF-β1, and executive function in long-term heroin addicts.
We enrolled 170 heroin addicts and 141 healthy controls. We measured their plasma BDNF and TGF-β1 levels and counted their platelets, red and white blood cells. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) was used to assess their executive function.
Plasma BDNF and TGF-β1 levels were significantly downregulated in long-term heroin addicts. BDNF, TGF-β1, and platelet levels were lower in patients who had used heroin for more than 6 years than in those who had used it for less than 6 years. Lower plasma BDNF and TGF-β1 levels were highly correlated with the changes in platelet counts. In the WCST, the number of trials needed to complete the first category were negatively associated with platelet counts and BDNF levels.
In long-term heroin addicts, lower platelet counts contributed to lower plasma BDNF and TGF-β1 levels, which, in turn, contributed to the disruption of executive function after long-term heroin use. Neurotrophic- and platelet-protective agents might provide a useful research focus for heroin addiction therapy.
长期海洛因成瘾者血浆脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）水平较低。然而，海洛因导致BDNF全身紊乱的机制和影响仍不清楚。
血小板可能是BDNF和转化生长因子（TGF）-β1等神经营养因子的来源。因此，我们研究了海洛因对血小板、BDNF和TGF-β1的影响，以及长期海洛因成瘾者血小板、BDNF、TGF-β1与执行功能之间的关联。
我们招募了170名海洛因成瘾者和141名健康对照者。测量他们的血浆BDNF和TGF-β1水平，并计数他们的血小板、红细胞和白细胞。使用威斯康星卡片分类测验（WCST）评估他们的执行功能。
长期海洛因成瘾者血浆BDNF和TGF-β1水平显著下调。使用海洛因超过6年的患者的BDNF、TGF-β1和血小板水平低于使用海洛因少于6年的患者。较低的血浆BDNF和TGF-β1水平与血小板计数变化高度相关。在WCST中，完成第一类所需的试验次数与血小板计数和BDNF水平呈负相关。
在长期海洛因成瘾者中，较低的血小板计数导致血浆BDNF和TGF-β1水平降低，进而导致长期使用海洛因后执行功能受损。神经营养和血小板保护剂可能为海洛因成瘾治疗提供有用的研究重点。
