OBJECTIVES

We investigated the differences in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) levels and clinical symptoms with first-episode depression at different ages.

METHODS

Ninety patients (15-60 years old) diagnosed with first-episode depression were enrolled as the study group, and they were divided into early-onset, adult and late-onset groups. The age-matched control groups were healthy volunteers. Serum BDNF and GDNF concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). GraphPad Prism 9 was used for t tests, one-way ANOVAs, chi-square tests, and correlation analyses.  < 0.05 indicated significant differences.

RESULTS

Serum BDNF and GDNF levels were lower in the whole study group and the three subgroups than in the healthy groups. Illness severity, anxiety and education were higher in the early-onset than late-onset patients. Serum BDNF levels were lower in the adult than late-onset patients. Serum BDNF levels were negatively correlated with patient CGI-SI scores. After the LSD test for multiple comparisons, the results were also significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Low serum BDNF and GDNF levels may be involved in the pathophysiology of first-episode depression, and there were differences in serum BDNF levels at different ages, verifying that serum BDNF and GDNF could serve as potential biomarkers of depression. KEY POINTSDepression is often conceptualised as a systemic illness with different biological mechanisms, but satisfactory explanations have not been provided thus far.The aim of our study was to investigate differences in serum BDNF and GDNF levels and their relationships with clinical symptoms in patients with first-episode depression at different ages.The potential of the neurotrophic factor hypothesis to advance the diagnosis and treatment of depression will be a very exciting new strategy for future research.