Serum and plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor and response in a randomized controlled trial of riluzole for treatment resistant depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial public health problem, affecting over 300 million people globally each year (Depression  Fact Sheet accessed February 7, 2018). Unfortunately, its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. The monoaminergic hypothesis, which has dominated the field of mood disorders research for many decades, does not fully explain the underlying neurobiology of MDD, as demonstrated by the modest and de layed effects of monoaminergic-based antidepressants. Emerging evidence supports the basis of a neurotropic hypothesis, which posits that mood disorders may result from neuronal atrophy induced by chronic stress (Duman et al., 1997, Pittenger and Duman, 2008, Duman et al., 2016).
Source: Journal of Affective Disorders - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Research paper Source Type: research