Abstract

Serum Brain-derived neurotrophic factor level and Depressive severity in patients with Chronic Temporal lobe Epilepsy: A Case-control study

Author(s): Nai-Ching Chen, Hsiu-Hui Chen, Yao-Chung Chuang, Chi-Wei Huang, Ya-Ting Chang, Shih-Wei Hsu, Pin-Hsuan Lin, Chiung-Chih Chang

Most cases of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) had epileptic foci originating from the hippocampal networks. As Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a member of the neurotrophin growth factor and mainly expressed in the hippocampus, it is not known the circulating level of BDNF may correlate with cognitive performance and depression severities in patients with chronic TLE. Forty-eight patients with TLE and 48 age- and gender-matched controls were enrolled for standardized cognitive tests, geriatric depression scale (GDS) and serum BDNF measurement. The study results showed significantly lower BDNF levels in the TLE patients compared with the controls, and the significance was found in the age ranges of 30 to 65 yearold. There was no gender effect of BDNF whether in the patients or in controls. In the patients, the BDNF levels were related to the antiepileptic drug (AED) numbers (σ= -0.287, p =0.048), GDS scores (σ= -0.306, p=0.044) and all cognitive test scores (p<0.05). None of the test scores showed significance in the controls. Using regression model, independent role of BDNF level on predicting verbal memory score and visual memory was found in the patients. Our study suggested that serum BDNF levels were of diagnostic repertoire in reflecting poor cognitive functions, higher depressive severity and greater numbers of AEDs in TLE patients.