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Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Post-Partum Depressive Mothers

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Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common psychiatric complication observed in women after they give birth. Some women are particularly sensitive to hormonal changes, starting in early menarche, thus increasing their vulnerability to psychological stressing agents that are triggered by environmental and physiological factors throughout their lives. Decreased serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels have been associated to different neuropsychiatric conditions and BDNF has been considered as a candidate marker for such dysfunctions. The goal of this study was to compare the levels of BDNF between mothers who suffer from PPD and healthy control mothers as well as to searching for associations between BDNF levels and the severity of PPD. This is a case–control study including 36 mothers with PPD and 36 healthy control mothers. PPD was defined according to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Serum BDNF was assayed with the sandwich ELISA method. Results: Serum levels of BDNF were significantly lower in women with PPD than in control mothers (P ≤ 0.03). A significant negative correlation between BDI score and serum BDNF levels was observed (P ≤ 0.02 and r = −0.29). Our study demonstrated that low BDNF levels are associated with PPD. This result point out to the potential usage of BDNF in the screening of PPD, which could promote early treatment and, therefore, reduce the burden to the PPD women and to the health system.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Brazilian grants CNPq, CAPES, PRONEX-FAPERGS (10/0055-0) and FINEP IBN-Net as well as by the INCT-Excitotoxicity and Neuroprotection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde & Comportamento, Centro de Ciências da Vida e da Saúde, Universidade Católica de Pelotas, Rua Almirante Barroso, 1202, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, 96010-280, Brazil

    Marta Gazal, Luis Souza Motta, Carolina David Wiener, Juliano Costa Fernandes, Luciana Ávila Quevedo, Karen Jansen, Karen Amaral Tavares Pinheiro, Ricardo Azevedo da Silva, Ricardo Tavares Pinheiro & Jean Pierre Oses

  2. Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Diogo Onofre Souza, Luis Valmor Portela & Jean Pierre Oses

  3. Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas. Laboratório de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Márcia Giovenardi

Authors
  1. Marta Gazal
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  2. Luis Souza Motta
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  3. Carolina David Wiener
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  4. Juliano Costa Fernandes
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  5. Luciana Ávila Quevedo
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  6. Karen Jansen
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  7. Karen Amaral Tavares Pinheiro
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  8. Márcia Giovenardi
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  9. Diogo Onofre Souza
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  10. Ricardo Azevedo da Silva
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  11. Ricardo Tavares Pinheiro
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  12. Luis Valmor Portela
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  13. Jean Pierre Oses
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jean Pierre Oses.

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Gazal, M., Motta, L.S., Wiener, C.D. et al. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Post-Partum Depressive Mothers. Neurochem Res 37, 583–587 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-011-0647-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-011-0647-3

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