Secretory Acid Sphingomyelinase in the Serum of Medicated Patients Predicts the Prospective Course of Depression
Mühle C, Wagner C, Färber K, Richter-Schmidinger T, Gulbins E, Lenz B, Kornhuber J (2019)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2019
Journal
Book Volume: 8
Journal Issue: 6
DOI: 10.3390/jcm8060846
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent and devastating psychiatric illness with strong individual and societal burdens. However, biomarkers to improve the limited preventive and therapeutic approaches are scarce. Multilevel evidence suggests that the pathophysiological involvement of sphingolipids particularly increases the levels of ceramides and the ceramide hydrolyzing enzyme, acid sphingomyelinase. The activity of secretory acid sphingomyelinase (S-ASM) and routine blood parameters were determined in the serum of patients with current (unmedicated n = 63, medicated n = 66) and remitted (n = 39) MDD and healthy subjects (n = 61). Depression severity and anxiety and their 3-weeks prospective course of treatment were assessed by psychometric inventories. S-ASM activity was not different between the four groups, did not decrease during treatment, and was not lower in individuals taking medication that functionally inhibited ASM. However, S-ASM correlated positively with depression severity only in remitted patients. High enzyme activity at inclusion predicted milder clinician-evaluated and self-rated depression severity (HAM-D, MADRS, BDI-II) and state anxiety at follow-up, and was related to stronger improvement in these scores in medicated patients. S-ASM was strongly and contrariwise associated with serum lipids in unmedicated and medicated females. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the pathomechanisms underlying depression and the development of clinical strategies and biomarkers.
Authors with CRIS profile
Christiane Mühle
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Claudia von Zimmermann
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Katharina Färber
Lehrstuhl für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie
Bernd Lenz
Medizinische Fakultät
Johannes Kornhuber
Lehrstuhl für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie
Involved external institutions
Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Mühle, C., Wagner, C., Färber, K., Richter-Schmidinger, T., Gulbins, E., Lenz, B., & Kornhuber, J. (2019). Secretory Acid Sphingomyelinase in the Serum of Medicated Patients Predicts the Prospective Course of Depression. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8060846
MLA:
Mühle, Christiane, et al. "Secretory Acid Sphingomyelinase in the Serum of Medicated Patients Predicts the Prospective Course of Depression." Journal of Clinical Medicine 8.6 (2019).
BibTeX: Download