Evidence mapPaperPMID 40445583Full record

ArticlePharmacological reports : PR2025

Biomarkers associated with antidepressant response and illness severity in major depressive disorder: a pilot study.

Massimiliano Buoli, Cecilia Maria Esposito, Alessandro Ceresa, Martina Di Paolo, Francesca Legnani, Anna Pan, Luca Ferrari, Valentina Bollati, Paola Monti

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Pharmacological reports : PR, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Massimiliano BuoliDepartment of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, Milan, 20122, Italy. massimiliano.buoli@unimi.it.
Cecilia Maria EspositoDepartment of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, Milan, 20122, Italy.
Alessandro CeresaDepartment of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, Milan, 20122, Italy.
Martina Di PaoloDepartment of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, Milan, 20122, Italy.
Francesca LegnaniDepartment of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, Milan, 20122, Italy.
Anna PanDepartment of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, Milan, 20122, Italy.
Luca FerrariEPIGET Lab, Department of Clinical Science and Community Health, Dipartimento di Eccellenza, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Milan, 2023-2027, Italy.
Valentina BollatiEPIGET Lab, Department of Clinical Science and Community Health, Dipartimento di Eccellenza, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Milan, 2023-2027, Italy.
Paola MontiEPIGET Lab, Department of Clinical Science and Community Health, Dipartimento di Eccellenza, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Milan, 2023-2027, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMajor Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a prevalent condition characterized by alterations in different biological systems including inflammatory and antioxidant pathways. Antidepressants seem to rebalance biological abnormalities. In this short communication, we report differences in a set of biomarkers between drug-free patients and those who benefited from response to antidepressant monotherapy.

methodsA sample of patients affected by MDD (N = 38) was recruited at the inpatient and outpatient clinic of Policlinico Hospital in Milan: 26 responders and 12 drug-free subjects. The two groups of patients were compared by χ2 tests and analyses of variance, respectively, for qualitative and continuous variables. Correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between rating scale scores (severity of MDD) and biological parameters.

resultsDrug-free patients (compared to the counterpart) had a higher number of previous suicide attempts (p < 0.01), lower levels of plasmatic proteins (p < 0.01), albumin (p = 0.02), and total cholesterol (p = 0.02), but higher plasma levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAs) (p = 0.02), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) (p < 0.01) and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) (p = 0.02).

conclusionsThe results of the present study suggest that the severity of MDD is associated with more prominent biological changes, and antidepressants might mitigate these abnormalities. Future studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

Indexed as

Antidepressive AgentsMajor Depressive DisorderAdultBiomarkersFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsSeverity of Illness IndexTreatment OutcomeAntidepressive AgentsBiomarkersAntidepressantsBiological markersMajor depressive disorder (MDD)Treatment response

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.