A history of childhood abuse increases the likelihood of lifetime psychopathology, especially the development of major depressive disorders and influence chronocity of MDD, said professor Jeon Hong-jin of Samsung Medical Center, SungKyunKwan University School of Medicine.
For a long time, trauma has been believed to affect the prevalence of diseases, but this is the first time the physical relation was verified, the research team said.
In his research published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, Jeon and his team found that plasma and serum levels of brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) were low in patients suffering from major depressive disorder. After antidepressant treatment, these same patients were found to have had significantly higher levels of BDNF ― results that suggest that depression is a disease that may lead to a decrease in brain growth.
BDNF is a member of the neurotrophin family and is a key mediator of neuronal plasticity in adults. Decreased levels of BDNF may contribute to atrophy of the brain’s hippocampus, a phenomenon that has been observed in patients with depression.
After studying 105 MDD patients and 50 non-patients, the doctors said MDDs and childhood trauma interfere with the utilization of BDNF in platelets and increase the level of platelet BDNF, while decreasing serum and plasma BDNF. The level of childhood trauma was also associated with platelet BDNF levels, Jeon said.
(baejisook@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
