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Focus on ECT seizure quality: serum BDNF as a peripheral biomarker in depressed patients

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A Letter to the Editor to this article was published on 05 February 2015

Abstract

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a well-established, safe and effective treatment in severest or drug-resistant affective disorders. The potential relation between any peripheral biological marker and the seizure quality as a surrogate for treatment efficacy has not been investigated so far. We prospectively examined serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in 20 patients with major depression before and after electroconvulsive therapy. A seizure quality sum score for every ECT session was build up on the basis of the seizure duration, seizure amplitude, central inhibition, interhemispheric coherence and sympathetic activation. Serum BDNF levels were significantly higher after ECT (P = 0.036). In the linear regression analysis, a significant correlation of the serum BDNF levels and the time between the last ECT and the blood withdrawal (P = 0.01) was observed. The ANOVA revealed a significant influence of the interval between the last ECT and the blood withdrawal (P = 0.0017) as well as the seizure quality (P = 0.038) on the variance of BDNF serum levels. Our data corroborate the neurotrophin hypothesis suggesting an ECT-induced central BDNF rise leading to a delayed (>6 days) and increased equilibrium of the peripheral BDNF. The association of seizure adequacy with a BDNF rise might underline the importance of monitoring seizure quality markers in daily practice.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Silvia Saft for excellent technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH), Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Jan Malte Bumb, Suna Su Aksay, Laura Kranaster, Peter Gass & Alexander Sartorius

  2. Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany

    Christoph Janke

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany

    Olga Geisel & Rainer Hellweg

Authors
  1. Jan Malte Bumb
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  2. Suna Su Aksay
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  5. Olga Geisel
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  6. Peter Gass
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  7. Rainer Hellweg
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  8. Alexander Sartorius
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander Sartorius.

Additional information

Jan Malte Bumb and Suna Su Aksay shared first authorship. Rainer Hellweg and Alexander Sartorius shared last authorship.

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Bumb, J.M., Aksay, S.S., Janke, C. et al. Focus on ECT seizure quality: serum BDNF as a peripheral biomarker in depressed patients. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 265, 227–232 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-014-0543-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-014-0543-3

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