Loading...
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a potential marker both for the presence of psychiatric illnesses and for changes in clinical status, particularly mood disorders. Particularly intriguing are the increases in BDNF associated with neurogenesis and clinical improvement. Investigators conducted the first “transdiagnostic” study of BDNF in 236 consecutively admitted psychiatric inpatients (mean age, 45; 57% female) and 100 healthy controls (mean age, 34; 44% female).
Patients had unipolar depression, bipolar depression, mania, or schizophrenia. BDNF was assessed on admission and discharge, when patients were symptomatically improved but not necessarily well. Diagnostic groups differed by mean age, body-mass index, age at onset, number…