Serum Brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in post-stroke depression

Abstract Background Depression is a frequent mood disorder that affects around a third of stroke patients and has been associated with poorer outcome. Our aim was to determine whether there is a relationship between serum Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels and post-stroke depression (PSD). Methods Two hundred and sixteen ischemic stroke patients admitted to the hospital within the first 24 h after stroke onset were consecutively recruited and followed up for 3 months. Based on the symptoms, diagnoses of depression were made in accordance with DSM-IV criteria for post-stroke depression at day 90. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum levels of BDNF at admission. Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression models. Results In our study, 59 patients (27.3%) were diagnosed as having major depression at 3 months. Patients with major depression showed lower levels of serum BDNF [8.1 (5.6–9.4) vs. 13.7 (10.4–16.5)ng/ml, P P =0.003]. Serum levels of BDNF≤10.2 ng/ml were independently associated with post-stroke (OR, 11.5; 95% CI, 5.6–23.4, P Conclusion The present study demonstrates a strong relationship between serum BDNF levels at admission and the development of PSD within 3 months. Further studies are necessary to confirm this association, which may open the way to the proposal of new therapeutic options.