Unfolding the Role of BDNF as a Biomarker for Treatment of Depression
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Unfolding the Role of BDNF as a Biomarker for Treatment of Depression Tarapati Rana1 · Tapan Behl2 · Aayush Sehgal1 · Pranay Srivastava2 · Simona Bungau3,4 Received: 23 September 2020 / Accepted: 8 November 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Depression is a well-known disabling mental illness characterized by sadness, loss of interest in activities, and decreased energy. The symptoms of depression are usually recurrent in vulnerable individuals, and persistence of symptoms significantly impairs individuals’ quality of life. The exact pathophysiology of depression remains ambiguous, though many hypotheses have been proposed. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has recently been reported to play a vital role in the pathophysiology of depression. BDNF is an important neurotrophic factor found in the human brain and is involved in neuronal growth and proliferation, synaptic neurotransmission, and neuroplasticity. The neurotrophic theory of depression proposes that depression results from reduced BDNF levels in the brain, which can be treated with antidepressants to alleviate depressive behavior and increase BDNF levels. The aim of this review is to provide broad insight into the role of BDNF in the pathogenesis of depression and in antidepressant therapy. The studies mentioned in this review article greatly support the role of BDNF in the pathogenesis of depression and treatment of this disorder with antidepressants. Since abnormalities in BDNF levels lead to the production of diverse insults that amplify the development or progression of depression, it is important to study and explore BDNF impairment in relation to depression, neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis, and increasing BDNF levels through antidepressant therapy, showing positive response in the management of depression. Keywords Depression · Brain-derived neurotrophic factor · Mental illness · Neuroplasticity · Neurogenesis · Antidepressant
Introduction Depression is a common debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of about 20% (Hidaka 2012). It affects over 350 million persons globally (Abel and Rissman 2013; Ferrari et al. 2013), with numbers increasing every year (Zhao et al. 2014; Duman et al. 2016). According to the Global Burden of Disease study, depression occupies Tarapati Rana and Tapan Behl are equally contributed to this work. * Tapan Behl [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Government Pharmacy College, Seraj, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India
2
Chitkara College of Pharmacy, Chitkara University, Punjab, India
3
Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
4
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania
ninth position amongst the top ten major disabling diseases (Smith 2014). The main clinical symptoms of depression include a long-lasting depressed mood, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, changes in appetite, low energy or concentra
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