Department of Psychiatry und Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry und Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany; Hochschule Fresenius, University of Applied Sciences, Munich, Germany.
J Affect Disord. 2018 Feb;227:206-213. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.10.037. Epub 2017 Oct 24.
Oxytocin is associated with bonding and social deficits in psychiatric disorders and has also been discussed as a potential therapeutic intervention to augment psychotherapy. The Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) is a specific form of psychotherapy for chronic depression, an illness in which interpersonal deficits play a major role. In this pilot study, we investigated whether Oxytocin plasma levels predict the clinical outcome of chronic depressive patients after CBASP.
Sixteen patients with chronic depression participated in a 10-week CBASP inpatient program. Oxytocin plasma levels were measured before and after participants played a virtual ball-tossing game (Cyberball) that mimics social exclusion. Clinical outcome after CBASP was evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-24).
After CBASP, depressive symptoms decreased significantly: the response rates were 44% (BDI-II) and 50% (HAMD-24); and the remission rates, 38% (BDI-II) and 44% (HAMD-24). Lower oxytocin plasma levels at baseline correlated with smaller changes in BDI-II scores, but not with the change in HAMD-24 scores.
The limitations of our study were the small sample size, concomitant and non-standardized pharmacotherapy, and lack of a controlled design and a follow-up period.
Our study provides first evidence that oxytocin plasma levels may predict the outcome of psychotherapy in chronic depression. These findings need to be replicated in larger randomized, controlled trials.
催产素与精神疾病中的联系和社交缺陷有关，也被讨论为增强心理治疗的潜在治疗干预措施。认知行为分析系统疗法（CBASP）是一种针对慢性抑郁症的特定形式的心理治疗，人际缺陷在这种疾病中起着重要作用。在这项初步研究中，我们调查了催产素血浆水平是否可以预测慢性抑郁症患者接受 CBASP 后的临床结果。
16 名慢性抑郁症患者参加了为期 10 周的 CBASP 住院计划。在参与者玩模仿社交排斥的虚拟投球游戏（Cyberball）之前和之后，测量了催产素血浆水平。CBASP 后的临床结果用贝克抑郁量表第二版（BDI-II）和 24 项汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HAMD-24）进行评估。
接受 CBASP 后，抑郁症状明显减轻：反应率分别为 44%（BDI-II）和 50%（HAMD-24）；缓解率分别为 38%（BDI-II）和 44%（HAMD-24）。基线时催产素血浆水平较低与 BDI-II 评分的变化较小相关，但与 HAMD-24 评分的变化无关。
我们研究的局限性在于样本量小、同时进行的非标准化药物治疗以及缺乏对照设计和随访期。
我们的研究首次提供了证据，表明催产素血浆水平可能预测慢性抑郁症心理治疗的结果。这些发现需要在更大的随机对照试验中得到复制。
