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Spoelma MJ, Serafimovska A, Parker G. Differentiating melancholic and non-melancholic depression via biological markers: A review. World J Biol Psychiatry 2023; 24:761-810. [PMID: 37259772 DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2023.2219725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Melancholia is a severe form of depression that is typified by greater genetic and biological influence, distinct symptomatology, and preferential response to physical treatment. This paper sought to broadly overview potential biomarkers of melancholia to benefit differential diagnosis, clinical responses and treatment outcomes. Given nuances in distinguishing melancholia as its own condition from other depressive disorder, we emphasised studies directly comparing melancholic to non-melancholic depression. METHODS A comprehensive literature search was conducted. Key studies were identified and summarised qualitatively. RESULTS 105 studies in total were identified. These studies covered a wide variety of biomarkers, and largely fell into three domains: endocrinological (especially cortisol levels, particularly in response to the dexamethasone suppression test), neurological, and immunological (particularly inflammatory markers). Less extensive evidence also exists for metabolic, genetic, and cardiovascular markers. CONCLUSIONS Definitive conclusions were predominantly limited due to substantial heterogeneity in how included studies defined melancholia. Furthermore, this heterogeneity could be responsible for the between- and within-group variability observed in the candidate biomarkers that were examined. Therefore, clarifying these definitional parameters may help identify underlying patterns in biomarker expression to improve diagnostic and therapeutic precision for the depressive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Spoelma
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Gordon Parker
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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Chu Z, Yuan L, He M, Cheng Y, Lu Y, Xu X, Shen Z. Atrophy of bilateral nucleus accumbens in melancholic depression. Neuroreport 2023; 34:493-500. [PMID: 37270840 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000001915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Evidence from previous literature suggests that the nucleus accumbens (NAc), hippocampus, and amygdala play critical roles in the reward circuit. Meanwhile, it was also suggested that abnormalities in the reward circuit might be closely associated with the symptom of anhedonia of depression. However, few studies have investigated the structural alterations of the NAc, hippocampus, and amygdala in depression with anhedonia as the main clinical manifestation. Thus, the current study aimed to explore the structural changes of the subcortical regions among melancholic depression (MD) patients, especially in the NAc, hippocampus, and amygdala, to provide a theoretical basis for understanding the pathological mechanisms of MD. Seventy-two MD patients, 74 nonmelancholic depression (NMD) patients, and 81 healthy controls (HCs) matched for sex, age, and years of education were included in the study. All participants underwent T1-weighted MRI scans. Subcortical structure segmentation was performed using the FreeSurfer software. MD and NMD patients had reduced left hippocampal volume compared with HCs. Meanwhile, only MD patients had reduced bilateral NAc volumes. Moreover, correlation analyses showed correlations between left NAc volume and late insomnia and lassitude in MD patients. The reduced hippocampal volume may be related to the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD), and the reduced volume of the NAc may be the unique neural mechanism of MD. The findings of the current study suggest that future studies should investigate the different pathogenic mechanisms of different subtypes of MDD further to contribute to the development of individualized diagnostic and treatment protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaosong Chu
- Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University
- Yunnan Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders
| | - Lijin Yuan
- Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University
- Yunnan Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders
| | - Mengxin He
- Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University
- Yunnan Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders
| | - Yuqi Cheng
- Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University
- Yunnan Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders
| | - Yi Lu
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
| | - Xiufeng Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University
- Yunnan Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders
| | - Zonglin Shen
- Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University
- Yunnan Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders
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Zhu H, Zhu H, Liu X, Wei F, Li H, Guo Z. The Characteristics of Entorhinal Cortex Functional Connectivity in Alzheimer's Disease Patients with Depression. Curr Alzheimer Res 2023; 19:CAR-EPUB-129980. [PMID: 36872356 DOI: 10.2174/1567205020666230303093112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression is one of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) which decreases the life quality of both patients and caregivers. There are currently no effective drugs. It is therefore important to explore the pathogenesis of depression in AD patients. OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of the entorhinal cortex (EC) functional connectivity (FC) in the whole brain neural network of AD patients with depression (D-AD). METHODS Twenty-four D-AD patients, 14 AD patients without depression (nD-AD), and 20 healthy controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We set the EC as the seed and used FC analysis. One-way analysis of variance was used to examine FC differences among the three groups. RESULTS Using the left EC as the seed point, there were FC differences among the three groups in the left EC-inferior occipital gyrus. Using the right EC as the seed point, there were FC differences among the three groups in the right EC-middle frontal gyrus, -superior parietal gyrus, -superior medial frontal gyrus, and -precentral gyrus. Compared with the nD-AD group, the D-AD group had increased FC between the right EC and right postcentral gyrus. CONCLUSION Asymmetry of FC in the EC and increased FC between the EC and right postcentral gyrus may be important in the pathogenesis of depression in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haokai Zhu
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Zhejiang 310000, China
| | - Hong Zhu
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310012, China
| | - Xiaozheng Liu
- Department of Radiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, China-USA Neuroimaging Research Institute, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China
| | - Fuquan Wei
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310012, China
| | - Huichao Li
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310012, China
| | - Zhongwei Guo
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310012, China
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Deng Z, Jiang X, Liu W, Zhao W, Jia L, Sun Q, Xie Y, Zhou Y, Sun T, Wu F, Kong L, Tang Y. The aberrant dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in melancholic major depressive disorder with insomnia. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:958994. [PMID: 36072459 PMCID: PMC9441487 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.958994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Insomnia is considered one of the manifestations of sleep disorders, and its intensity is linked to the treatment effect or suicidal thoughts. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is classified into various subtypes due to heterogeneous symptoms. Melancholic MDD has been considered one of the most common subtypes with special sleep features. However, the brain functional mechanisms in melancholic MDD with insomnia remain unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS Melancholic MDD and healthy controls (HCs, n = 46) were recruited for the study. Patients were divided into patients with melancholic MDD with low insomnia (mMDD-LI, n = 23) and patients with melancholic MDD with high insomnia (mMDD-HI, n = 30), according to the sleep disturbance subscale of the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation was employed to investigate the alterations of brain activity among the three groups. Then, the correlations between abnormal dALFF values of brain regions and the severity of symptoms were investigated. RESULTS Lower dALFF values were found in the mMDD-HI group in the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG)/superior temporal gyrus (STG) than in the mMDD-LI (p = 0.014) and HC groups (p < 0.001). Melancholic MDD groups showed decreased dALFF values than HC in the right middle occipital gyri (MOG)/superior occipital gyri (SOG), the right cuneus, the bilateral lingual gyrus, and the bilateral calcarine (p < 0.05). Lower dALFF values than HC in the left MOG/SOG and the left cuneus in melancholic MDD groups were found, but no significant difference was found between the mMDD-LI group and HC group (p = 0.079). Positive correlations between the dALFF values in the right MTG/STG and HAMD-SD scores (the sleep disturbance subscale of the HAMD-17) in the mMDD-HI group (r = 0.41, p = 0.042) were found. In the pooled melancholic MDD, the dALFF values in the right MOG/SOG and the right cuneus (r = 0.338, p = 0.019), the left MOG/SOG and the left cuneus (r = 0.299, p = 0.039), and the bilateral lingual gyrus and the bilateral calcarine (r = 0.288, p = 0.047) were positively correlated with adjusted HAMD scores. CONCLUSION The occipital cortex may be related to depressive symptoms in melancholic MDD. Importantly, the right MTG/STG may play a critical role in patients with melancholic MDD with more severe insomnia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijing Deng
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Xiaowei Jiang
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Wen Liu
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Wenhui Zhao
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Linna Jia
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Qikun Sun
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yu Xie
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yifang Zhou
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Ting Sun
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Feng Wu
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Lingtao Kong
- Brain Function Research Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yanqing Tang
- Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Gerontology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
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