tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci
. 2023 Aug 30.
doi: 10.1007/s00406-023-01681-z. Online ahead of print. Levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) among patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Arman Shafiee[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Niloofar Seighali[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mohammad Teymouri Athar[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Abolfazl King Abdollahi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kyana Jafarabady[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mahmood Bakhtiyari[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Many individuals have been suffering from consistent neurological and neuropsychiatric manifestations even after the remission of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein involved in the regulation of several processes, including neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, and neuronal differentiation, and has been linked to a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In this study, we aimed to synthesize the available evidence on the profile of BDNF in COVID-19. A comprehensive search was done in the Web of Science core collection, Scopus, and MEDLINE (PubMed), and Embase to identify relevant studies reporting the level of BDNF in patients with COVID-19 or those suffering from long COVID. We used the NEWCASTLE-OTTAWA tool for quality assessment. We pooled the effect sizes of individual studies using the random effect model for our meta-analysis. Fifteen articles were included in the systematic review. The sample sizes ranged from 16 to 183 participants. Six studies compared the level of BDNF in COVID-19 patients with healthy controls. The pooled estimate of the standardized mean difference in BDNF level between patients with COVID-19 and healthy individuals was - 0.84 (95% CI - 1.49 to - 0.18, p = 0.01, I2 = 81%) indicating a significantly lower BDNF level in patients with COVID-19. Seven studies assessed BDNF in different severity statuses of patients with COVID-19. The pooled estimate of the standardized mean difference in BDNF level was - 0.53 (95% CI - 0.85 to - 0.21, p = 0.001, I2 = 46%), indicating a significantly lower BDNF level in patients with more severe COVID-19. Three studies evaluated BDNF levels in COVID-19 patients through different follow-up periods. Only one study assessed the BDNF levels in long COVID patients. Sensitivity analyses did not alter the significance of the association. In this study, we showed a significant dysregulation of BDNF following COVID-19 infection. These findings may support the pathogenesis behind the long-lasting effects of this disease among infected patients. PROSPERO: CRD42023413536.
Keywords: BDNF; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2.
. 2023 Aug 30.
doi: 10.1007/s00406-023-01681-z. Online ahead of print. Levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) among patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Arman Shafiee[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Niloofar Seighali[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mohammad Teymouri Athar[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Abolfazl King Abdollahi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kyana Jafarabady[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mahmood Bakhtiyari[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 37646849
- DOI: 10.1007/s00406-023-01681-z
Many individuals have been suffering from consistent neurological and neuropsychiatric manifestations even after the remission of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein involved in the regulation of several processes, including neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, and neuronal differentiation, and has been linked to a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In this study, we aimed to synthesize the available evidence on the profile of BDNF in COVID-19. A comprehensive search was done in the Web of Science core collection, Scopus, and MEDLINE (PubMed), and Embase to identify relevant studies reporting the level of BDNF in patients with COVID-19 or those suffering from long COVID. We used the NEWCASTLE-OTTAWA tool for quality assessment. We pooled the effect sizes of individual studies using the random effect model for our meta-analysis. Fifteen articles were included in the systematic review. The sample sizes ranged from 16 to 183 participants. Six studies compared the level of BDNF in COVID-19 patients with healthy controls. The pooled estimate of the standardized mean difference in BDNF level between patients with COVID-19 and healthy individuals was - 0.84 (95% CI - 1.49 to - 0.18, p = 0.01, I2 = 81%) indicating a significantly lower BDNF level in patients with COVID-19. Seven studies assessed BDNF in different severity statuses of patients with COVID-19. The pooled estimate of the standardized mean difference in BDNF level was - 0.53 (95% CI - 0.85 to - 0.21, p = 0.001, I2 = 46%), indicating a significantly lower BDNF level in patients with more severe COVID-19. Three studies evaluated BDNF levels in COVID-19 patients through different follow-up periods. Only one study assessed the BDNF levels in long COVID patients. Sensitivity analyses did not alter the significance of the association. In this study, we showed a significant dysregulation of BDNF following COVID-19 infection. These findings may support the pathogenesis behind the long-lasting effects of this disease among infected patients. PROSPERO: CRD42023413536.
Keywords: BDNF; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2.