Effects of neuronavigation-guided rTMS on serum BDNF, TrkB and VGF levels in depressive patients with suicidal ideation

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders 2023-02, Vol.323, p.617-623
• Main Authors: Pan, Fen, Mou, Tingting, Shao, Jiamin, Chen, Haiyang, Tao, Siyi, Wang, Lianfang, Jiang, Chaonan, Zhao, Miaomiao, Wang, Zheng, Hu, Shaohua, Xu, Yi, Huang, Manli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: BDNF-TrkB pathway; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor - metabolism; Depression; Humans; Nerve Growth Factors; Neuronavigation; rTMS; Suicidal Ideation; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - methods; VGF
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.11.059

Neuronavigation-guided high-dose repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could rapidly treat depressive patients with suicidal ideation. But the mechanism of rTMS still needs to be elucidated. This study aims to investigate if rTMS improves suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms by influencing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tropomysin receptor kinase B (TrkB) and VGF levels. In the present 1-week study, 59 treatment-naive depressive patients with suicidal ideation were randomly assigned to the active (n = 31) or sham (n = 28) rTMS group. The severity of suicidal ideation and depression were measured by the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Fasting venous blood samples were collected at baseline and after treatment. Serum protein concentrations of BDNF, TrkB and VGF were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. We found after treatment the levels of BDNF in the active rTMS group were higher than the sham group (p = 0.011), TrkB levels were decreased in the active group (p