Background: Increased levels of inflammation have been associated with a poorer response to antidepressants in several clinical samples, but these findings have had been limited by low reproducibility of biomarker assays across laboratories, difficulty in predicting response probability on an individual basis, and unclear molecular mechanisms.
Methods: Here we measured absolute mRNA values (a reliable quantitation of number of molecules) of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor and interleukin-1β in a previously published sample from a randomized controlled trial comparing escitalopram vs nortriptyline (GENDEP) as well as in an independent, naturalistic replication sample. We then used linear discriminant analysis to calculate mRNA values cutoffs that best discriminated between responders and nonresponders after 12 weeks of antidepressants. As Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor and interleukin-1β might be involved in different pathways, we constructed a protein-protein interaction network by the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins.
Results: We identified cutoff values for the absolute mRNA measures that accurately predicted response probability on an individual basis, with positive predictive values and specificity for nonresponders of 100% in both samples (negative predictive value=82% to 85%, sensitivity=52% to 61%). Using network analysis, we identified different clusters of targets for these 2 cytokines, with Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor interacting predominantly with pathways involved in neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, and cell proliferation, and interleukin-1β interacting predominantly with pathways involved in the inflammasome complex, oxidative stress, and neurodegeneration.
Conclusion: We believe that these data provide a clinically suitable approach to the personalization of antidepressant therapy: patients who have absolute mRNA values above the suggested cutoffs could be directed toward earlier access to more assertive antidepressant strategies, including the addition of other antidepressants or antiinflammatory drugs.
Background: Differences in 5-HT 1A receptor function have been implicated in vulnerability to depression and in response to treatment. Adding 5-HT 1A partial agonists to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors has been touted as a strategy to increase their efficacy. Here we use the novelty suppressed feeding paradigm to compare the effects of vilazodone, a high-potency selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, with high affinity for 5-HT 1A receptors to the reference selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine across several mouse strains that differ in their response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Methods: To confirm 5-HT 1A agonist activity, body temperature was measured after acute administration of vilazodone or fluoxetine, as administration of 5-HT 1A agonists induces hypothermia. We next used 3 strains of mice to examine the effects of the drugs on latency in the novelty suppressed feeding, a paradigm generally sensitive to chronic but not acute effects of antidepressants.
Results: Vilazodone induces robust hypothermia and blocks stress-induced hyperthermia in a 5-HT 1A -dependent manner, consistent with agonist effects at 5-HT 1A autoreceptors. In 129SvEv mice, vilazodone (10mg/kg/d) reduces the latency to eat in the novelty suppressed feeding test within 8 days, while no effect of fluoxetine (20mg/kg/d) was detected at that time. In contrast, both vilazodone and fluoxetine are effective at decreasing latency to eat in the novelty suppressed feeding paradigm in a strain with low autoreceptor levels. In mice with higher autoreceptor levels, no significant difference was detected between fluoxetine and vehicle ( P=. 8) or vilazodone and vehicle ( P =.06).
Conclusion: In mice, vilazodone may offer advantages in time of onset and efficacy over a reference selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor in the novelty suppressed feeding test.
Background: Management of cognitive deficits in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) remains an important unmet need. This meta-analysis evaluated the effects of vortioxetine on cognition in patients with MDD.
Methods: Random effects meta-analysis was applied to three randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 8-week trials of vortioxetine (5-20mg/day) in MDD, and separately to two duloxetine-referenced trials. The primary outcome measure was change in Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) score. Standardized effect sizes (SES) versus placebo (Cohen's d ) were used as input. Path analysis was employed to determine the extent to which changes in DSST were mediated independently of a change in Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score. Meta-analysis was applied to MADRS-adjusted and -unadjusted SES values. Changes on additional cognitive tests were evaluated (source studies only).
Results: Before adjustment for MADRS, vortioxetine separated from placebo on DSST score (SES 0.25-0.48; nominal p < 0.05) in all individual trials, and statistically improved DSST performance versus placebo in meta-analyses of the three trials (SES = 0.35; p < 0.0001) and two duloxetine-referenced trials (SES = 0.26; p = 0.001). After adjustment for MADRS, vortioxetine maintained DSST improvement in one individual trial ( p = 0.001) and separation from placebo was maintained in meta-analyses of all three trials (SES = 0.24; p < 0.0001) and both duloxetine-referenced trials (SES 0.19; p = 0.01). Change in DSST with duloxetine failed to separate from placebo in individual trials and both meta-analyses. Change in DSST statistically favored vortioxetine versus duloxetine after MADRS adjustment (SES = 0.16; p = 0.04).
Conclusions: Vortioxetine, but not duloxetine, significantly improved cognition, independent of depressive symptoms. Vortioxetine represents an important treatment for MDD-related cognitive dysfunction.
Background: Development of new strategies that can effectively prevent and/or treat alcohol use disorders is of paramount importance, because the currently available treatments are inadequate. Increasing evidence indicates that the lateral habenula (LHb) plays an important role in aversion, drug abuse, and depression. In light of the success of high-frequency stimulation (HFS) of the LHb in improving helplessness behavior in rodents, we assessed the effects of LHb HFS on ethanol-drinking behavior in rats.
Methods: We trained rats to drink ethanol under an intermittent access two-bottle choice procedure. We used c-Fos immunohistochemistry and electrophysiological approaches to examine LHb activity. We applied a HFS protocol that has proven effective for reducing helplessness behavior in rats via a bipolar electrode implanted into the LHb.
Results: c-Fos protein expression and the frequency of both spontaneous action potential firings and spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents were higher in LHb neurons of ethanol-withdrawn rats compared to their ethanol-naïve counterparts. HFS to the LHb produced long-term reduction of intake and preference for ethanol, without altering locomotor activity. Conversely, low-frequency electrical stimulation to the LHb or HFS applied to the nearby nucleus did not affect drinking behavior.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that withdrawal from chronic ethanol exposure increases glutamate release and the activity of LHb neurons, and that functional inhibition of the LHb via HFS reduces ethanol consumption. Thus, LHb HFS could be a potential new therapeutic option for alcoholics.
Background: These post hoc analyses evaluated vortioxetine efficacy on cognitive dysfunction in depression. Data were from a double-blind, randomized, fixed-dose, placebo-controlled, 8-week depression study in adults aged 18-65 years (n = 602) with DSM-IV-defined major depressive disorder (MDD). Subjects were randomized (1:1:1) to vortioxetine 10mg/day or 20mg/day or placebo.
Methods: Cognitive function was assessed at baseline, Week 1 (10mg/day only) and Week 8 using Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) number of correct symbols, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Trail Making Test, Stroop test, Simple Reaction Time, and Choice Reaction Time tests. The cognition variables were standardized and used for constructing composite Z-scores for the cognitive domains of executive function, attention/speed of processing, and memory.
Results: At Week 1, vortioxetine 10mg/day separated from placebo for attention/speed of processing (standardized composite Z-score = 0.21; p = 0.0238) and DSST number of correct symbols (standardized effect size = 0.18; p = 0.0458) and for executive function (standardized composite Z-score = 0.20; p = 0.0274). At Week 8, vortioxetine 10mg/day and 20mg/day separated from placebo for executive function and attention/speed of processing, with standardized composite Z-scores ranging from 0.35 to 0.49 (all p < 0.01). Standardized composite Z-scores for memory were 0.31 ( p = 0.0036, 10mg/day) and 0.22 ( p = 0.0349, 20mg/day). Standardized effect sizes for DSST were 0.51 ( p < 0.0001, 10mg/day) and 0.52 ( p < 0.0001, 20mg/day). Results are limited by the post hoc nature of the analyses and the absence of an active reference in the original study.
Conclusions: Vortioxetine (10 and 20mg/day) had a multi-domain beneficial effect on cognitive performance, as evidenced by improvements in measures of executive function, attention/speed of processing, and memory. The effect on the DSST may be due to improvements in several cognitive skills.
Background: Increased inflammatory markers and oxidative stress have been reported in serum among patients with bipolar disorder (BD). The aim of this study is to assess whether biochemical changes in the serum of patients induces neurotoxicity in neuronal cell cultures.
Methods: We challenged the retinoic acid-differentiated human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells with the serum of BD patients at early and late stages of illness and assessed neurite density and cell viability as neurotoxic endpoints.
Results: Decreased neurite density was found in neurons treated with the serum of patients, mostly patients at late stages of illness. Also, neurons challenged with the serum of late-stage patients showed a significant decrease in cell viability.
Conclusions: Our findings showed that the serum of patients with bipolar disorder induced a decrease in neurite density and cell viability in neuronal cultures.
Background: Increasing evidence supports a role for appetite-regulating pathways like ghrelin, insulin, and leptin in alcoholism. We previously reported that intravenous (i.v.) exogenous ghrelin increases alcohol craving. We also reported i.v. ghrelin reduces endogenous serum leptin, whose levels, in turn, negatively correlated with alcohol craving. Exogenous ghrelin administration decreases insulin secretion both in vitro and in vivo experiments. This study tested the hypothesis that i.v. ghrelin may also decrease endogenous serum insulin levels in alcoholic individuals. Additionally, we explored possible correlations between serum insulin and alcohol craving, since a correlation between insulin and alcohol craving was previously reported.
Methods: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled human laboratory study ( n =43). Non-treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent, heavy drinkers were randomized to receive i.v. ghrelin or placebo, followed by an alcohol cue-reactivity procedure.
Results: There was a main effect for i.v. ghrelin, compared to placebo in reducing serum insulin ( P <.05). There was also a time effect ( P <.001) but not ghrelin x time interaction ( P >.05). We did not find a correlation between the reduction of serum insulin and alcohol craving ( P >.05). The change in serum insulin was consistent with a parallel reduction in serum connective-peptide in the ghrelin group compared with placebo, although this difference did not reach statistical significance ( P =.076). No similar effects were found for other glucose-regulating hormones analyzed i.e. glucagon, glucagon-like peptide-1, and gastric inhibitory peptide ( P s>.05).
Conclusions: These findings indicate i.v. ghrelin administration has an effect on reducing serum insulin in alcohol-dependent individuals; however, the reduction of insulin did not correlate with changes in alcohol cue-elicited craving. We speculate that, unlike for leptin, the interactions between ghrelin and insulin relationship are limited at the peripheral level. However, mechanistic studies are needed to investigate this hypothesis.

