Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug 20;13(8):1221.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci13081221.

Can Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Be Considered a Biomarker for Bipolar Disorder? An Analysis of the Current Evidence

Gianmarco De Felice  1 , Mario Luciano  1 , Alessia Boiano  1 , Giulia Colangelo  1 , Pierluigi Catapano  1 , Bianca Della Rocca  1 , Maria Vita Lapadula  1 , Elena Piegari  1 , Claudia Toni  1 , Andrea Fiorillo  1
Affiliations
Review

Can Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Be Considered a Biomarker for Bipolar Disorder? An Analysis of the Current Evidence

Gianmarco De Felice et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a key role in brain development, contributing to neuronal survival and neuroplasticity. Previous works have found that BDNF is involved in several neurological or psychiatric diseases. In this review, we aimed to collect all available data on BDNF and bipolar disorder (BD) and assess if BDNF could be considered a biomarker for BD. We searched the most relevant medical databases and included studies reporting original data on BDNF circulating levels or Val66Met polymorphism. Only articles including a direct comparison with healthy controls (HC) and patients diagnosed with BD according to international classification systems were included. Of the 2430 identified articles, 29 were included in the present review. Results of the present review show a reduction in BDNF circulating levels during acute phases of BD compared to HC, which increase after effective therapy of the disorders. The Val66Met polymorphism was related to features usually associated with worse outcomes. High heterogeneity has been observed regarding sample size, clinical differences of included patients, and data analysis approaches, reducing comparisons among studies. Although more studies are needed, BDNF seems to be a promising biomarker for BD.

Keywords: BDNF; bipolar disorder; brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram of selection of studies included in the review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) [(accessed on 4 March 2023)]. Available online: https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/
    1. Merikangas K.R., Jin R., He J.-P., Kessler R.C., Lee S., Sampson N.A., Viana M.C., Andrade L.H., Hu C., Karam E.G., et al. Prevalence and correlates of bipolar spectrum disorder in the world mental health survey initiative. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 2011;68:241–251. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.12. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kizilkurt O.K., Gulec M.Y., Giynas F.E., Gulec H. Effects of personality functioning on the global functioning of patients with bipolar disorder I. Psychiatry Res. 2018;266:309–316. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.03.028. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McIntyre R.S., Alda M., Baldessarini R.J., Bauer M., Berk M., Correll C.U., Fagiolini A., Fountoulakis K., Frye M.A., Grunze H., et al. The clinical characterization of the adult patient with bipolar disorder aimed at personalization of management. World Psychiatry. 2022;21:364–387. doi: 10.1002/wps.20997. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lång U., Ramsay H., Yates K., Veijola J., Gyllenberg D., Clarke M.C., Leacy F.P., Gissler M., Kelleher I. Potential for prediction of psychosis and bipolar disorder in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: A longitudinal register study of all people born in Finland in 1987. World Psychiatry. 2022;21:436–443. doi: 10.1002/wps.21009. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources