Department of Pharmacy, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
Department of Pharmacy, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
Behav Brain Res. 2024 Sep 13;473:115193. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115193. Epub 2024 Aug 8.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Growing evidence suggests that neurotransmitters may be associated with cognitive decline in MDD. This study primarily investigated the differences in cognitive functions between MDD patients and healthy controls, and explored the potential association between neurotransmitters and cognitive function of MDD patients.
This cross-sectional study enrolled 87 first-diagnosed and drug-naïve patients with MDD and 50 healthy controls. Neurotransmitters (glutamine, glutamic acid, γ-2Aminobutiric acid, kainate, vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), 3-methoxy 4-hydroxyphenyl ethylene glycol (MHPG), noradrenaline (NE), homovanillic acid, dihydroxy-phenyl acetic acid (DOPAC), dopamine (DA), tryptophane, kynurenine, 5-HT, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) were measured using LC-MS/MS and cognitive functions were assessed by the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Then associative analyses with adjustment (female, age, BMI, education) by multiple linear regression between neurotransmitters and cognitive functions especially in MDD patients were performed.
MDD patients had lower RBANS scores in immediate memory, delayed memory and RBANS scores after adjustment. Neurotransmitters were associated with the cognitive levels of MDD patients after adjustment: DOPAC and DOPAC/DA had positive association with immediate memory score; DOPAC, DOPAC/DA and (VMA+MHPG)/NE were positively associated with attention score; NE was negatively associated with language score; DOPAC/DA was positively associated with both delayed memory and RBANS scores.
Patients had greater cognitive impairment especially in memory. Furthermore, plasma neurotransmitter may be related to MDD and play an important role in cognitive impairment in MDD, especially in memory and attention.
越来越多的证据表明，神经递质可能与 MDD 患者的认知能力下降有关。本研究主要考察了 MDD 患者与健康对照组之间认知功能的差异，并探讨了神经递质与 MDD 患者认知功能的潜在关联。
本横断面研究纳入了 87 例首次诊断且未经药物治疗的 MDD 患者和 50 名健康对照者。采用 LC-MS/MS 检测神经递质（谷氨酰胺、谷氨酸、γ-2-氨基丁酸、海人酸、香草扁桃酸（VMA）、3-甲氧基-4-羟基苯乙二醇（MHPG）、去甲肾上腺素（NE）、高香草酸、二羟苯乙酸（DOPAC）、多巴胺（DA）、色氨酸、犬尿氨酸、5-HT、5-羟吲哚乙酸），并采用重复性成套神经心理状态测验（RBANS）评估认知功能。然后采用多元线性回归分析，对 MDD 患者进行性别、年龄、BMI、教育程度调整后的神经递质与认知功能之间的关联进行分析。
调整后，MDD 患者的 RBANS 即时记忆、延迟记忆和 RBANS 评分均较低。调整后，神经递质与 MDD 患者的认知水平相关：DOPAC 和 DOPAC/DA 与即时记忆评分呈正相关；DOPAC、DOPAC/DA 和（VMA+MHPG）/NE 与注意力评分呈正相关；NE 与语言评分呈负相关；DOPAC/DA 与延迟记忆和 RBANS 评分呈正相关。
患者存在较大的认知障碍，尤其是记忆障碍。此外，血浆神经递质可能与 MDD 相关，在 MDD 患者的认知障碍中发挥重要作用，尤其是在记忆和注意力方面。
