Department of Psychiatry, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Brain Behav. 2021 Aug;11(8):e02001. doi: 10.1002/brb3.2001. Epub 2021 Aug 2.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been related to the etiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). The findings involving the effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the VEGF levels have been conflicting. The aim was to examine the possible changes in the VEGF levels and their associations with clinical outcome in patients with MDD during ECT.
The study comprised 30 patients suffering from MDD. Their plasma VEGF levels were measured at baseline and 2 and 4 hr after the first, fifth, and last ECT session. The severity of depression was quantified by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS).
The VEGF levels increased between the 2-hr and 4-hr measurements during the first (p = .003) and the fifth (p = .017) sessions. The baseline VEGF levels between individual ECT sessions remained unchanged during the ECT series. No correlations were found between the increased VEGF levels and the clinical outcome.
Electroconvulsive therapy increased the VEGF levels repeatedly at the same time point in two different ECT sessions. These increases had no association with the response to ECT. Consequently, VEGF may act as a mediator in the mechanism of action of ECT.
血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）与重度抑郁症（MDD）的病因有关。涉及电惊厥疗法（ECT）对 VEGF 水平影响的研究结果存在矛盾。本研究旨在探讨 MDD 患者在 ECT 过程中 VEGF 水平的可能变化及其与临床疗效的关系。
本研究纳入 30 例 MDD 患者。在 ECT 治疗的第 1、5 和最后一次治疗的第 1、5 和最后一次治疗后 2 小时和 4 小时测量他们的血浆 VEGF 水平。使用蒙哥马利-阿斯伯格抑郁评定量表（MADRS）来量化抑郁的严重程度。
在第 1 次（p=0.003）和第 5 次（p=0.017）ECT 治疗中，2 小时和 4 小时测量之间的 VEGF 水平增加。ECT 系列过程中，各 ECT 治疗之间的基线 VEGF 水平保持不变。增加的 VEGF 水平与临床疗效之间没有相关性。
ECT 可在两个不同的 ECT 治疗中同时在相同的时间点反复增加 VEGF 水平。这些增加与 ECT 的反应无关。因此，VEGF 可能是 ECT 作用机制的中介物。
