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Cited by 187Treatment of Major DepressionTryptophan and brain disordersNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Meta-analyses of comparative efficacy of antidepressant medications on peripheral BDNF concentration in patients with depression

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Zhou, Chanjuan, Zhong, Jiaju, Zou, Bin, Fang, Liang, Chen, Jianjun, Deng, Xiao, Zhang, Lin, Zhao, Xiang +3 more·2017·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0172270PMC PMC5328267
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the most important regulatory proteins in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Increasing numbers of studies have reported the relationship between serum/plasma BDNF and antidepressants (ADs). However, the potential effects of several classes of antidepressants on BDNF concentrations are not well known. Hence, our meta-analyses aims to review the effects of differential antidepressant drugs on peripheral BDNF levels in MDD and make some recommendations for future research. METHODS: Electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO were searched from 1980 to June 2016. The change in BDNF levels were compared between baseline and post-antidepressants treatment by use of the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: We identified 20 eligible trials of antidepressants treatments for BDNF in MDD. The overall effect size for all drug classes showed that BDNF levels were elevated following a course of antidepressants use. For between-study heterogeneity by stratification analyses, we detect that length of treatment and blood samples are significant effect modifiers for BDNF levels during antidepressants treatment. While both SSRIs and SNRIs could increase the BDNF levels after a period of antidepressant medication treatment, sertraline was superior to other three drugs (venlafaxine, paroxetine or escitalopram) in the early increase of BDNF concentrations with SMD 0.53(95% CI = 0.13-0.93; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: There is some evidence that treatment of antidepressants appears to be effective in the increase of peripheral BDNF levels. More robust evidence indicates that different types of antidepressants appear to induce differential effects on the BDNF levels. Since sertraline makes a particular effect on BDNF concentration within a short amount of time, there is potential value in exploring its relationship with BDNF and its pharmacological mechanism concerning peripheral blood BDNF. Further confirmatory trials are required for both observations.

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  • Preclinical and clinical research has shown that BDNF markers are increased and enhanced by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

    “Preclinical and clinical research has shown that these markers are increased and enhanced by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (34, 35) used to manage the symptoms of these disorders (36).”

    From Psychedelics and Neuroplasticity: A Systematic Review Unraveling the Biological Underpinnings of Psychedelics. (2021) · cites this paper as [35]

    The Discussion reports that peripheral BDNF levels increased during SSRI treatment in patients with depression. It does not establish a preclinical finding or show that BDNF markers generally are enhanced; its finding concerns peripheral BDNF levels in clinical studies. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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References 55 · Cited by 187

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Authors
Zhou, C., Zhong, J., Zou, B., Fang, L., Chen, J., Deng, X., Zhang, L., Zhao, X., Qu, Z., Lei, Y., & Lei, T.
Affiliations
  • Chongqing Medical University (CN)
  • Southwest University (CN)
  • Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (CN)
  • University of Fribourg (CH)
Corresponding author
Lei, Ting
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2017-02-27
Volume
12
Issue
2
Pages
e0172270
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0172270
PMC
PMC5328267
OpenAlex
W2593976960
Cited by
187
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 8
FWCI
14.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Scientific and Technological Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (NO.KJ1600223)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
brain-derived neurotrophic factor, antidepressants, major depressive disorder, sertraline, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, venlafaxine, paroxetine, escitalopram, treatment duration, effect modifiers
MeSH terms
Venlafaxine Hydrochloride, Antidepressive Agents, Clinical Trials as Topic, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Depression, Humans, Sensitivity and Specificity, Reproducibility of Results, Citalopram, Paroxetine, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Sertraline

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