T-lymphocyte proliferative response to mitogen stimulation in elderly depressed patients

Association between dietary calcium and depression among American adults: National health and nutrition examination survey

Background

There is only limited evidence for an association between calcium (Ca) and depression, and the relationship was inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between dietary Ca and the risk of depressive symptoms in individuals over the age of 18 in the US.

Methods

We extracted 14,971 participants from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2016 to probe their associations. Dietary Ca intake was measured through 24 h dietary recall method. Patients with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) ≥ 10 scores were believed to have depressive symptoms. The association between dietary Ca and depressive symptoms was investigated using multivariate logistic regression, sensitivity analysis, and restricted cubic spline regression.

Results

In this study, 7.6% (1,144/14,971) of them had depressive symptoms. After adjusting for sex, age, race, poverty to income ratio (PIR), marital status, education, body mass index (BMI), caffeine intake, carbohydrates intake, total energy intake, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diabetes, hypertension, severe cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, serum vitamin D, serum Ca, and Ca supplement, the adjusted ORs value [95% confidence interval (CI)] of depression for the lowest category (Q1 ≤ 534 mg/day) vs. Q2-Q4 of Ca intake were 0.83 (0.69-0.99), 0.97 (0.65-0.95), and 0.80 (0.63-0.98) with the p for trend (p = 0.014). The relationship between dietary Ca intake and depressive symptoms was linear (non-linear p = 0.148). None of the interactions were significant except among races (p for interaction = 0.001).

Conclusion

Association between dietary Ca and the prevalence of depressive symptoms in US adults. And Ca intake was negatively associated with the risk of depressive symptoms. As Ca intake increased, the prevalence of depressive symptoms decreased.

Phosphatidylserine: an antidepressive or a cognitive enhancer?

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the putative antidepressive and cognitive enhancer effects of phosphatidylserine (BC-PS). The antidepressive effect of BC-PS (50, 100 or 200 mg/kg), compared to saline or imipramine (IMI; 25 mg/kg), was studied in the forced swimming test in rats. These drugs were administered 1 and 8 h after training and 1 h before the test. BC-PS (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg)-treated rats exhibited a significant decrease in immobility time (IT) in the test session (performed 24 h after training) when compared to control rats. Moreover, the IMI-treated group showed a significant reduction in IT in comparison to control rats. The cognitive enhancer effect of BC-PS (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) was studied in the three versions of the water maze task: spatial working memory version, spatial reference memory version, and cued version. There was no significant difference between the BC-PS-treated groups and control animals in these memory tasks. Taken together, the present results are suggestive of an antidepressive effect of BC-PS in the forced swimming test in rats but not of a cognitive enhancer effect of the drug in the water maze test.

Serological observations in patients suffering from acute manic episodes

Although abnormalities of the immune system have been described in depression, information on serological alteration in acutely manic patients has been scarce. The present study undertook to investigate the levels of C-reactive proteins, circulating immune complexes, total immunoglobulins and immunoglobulin subclasses, complement proteins C3, C4, C6 and Factor B in the sera of 45 patients suffering from an acute manic episode. The findings were compared with assessments on the sera of 45 controls. The results demonstrate a number of significant differences between patients and controls. Whilst levels of immunoglobulin D were significantly lower, the levels of total immunoglobulin and immunoglobulin G1, complement proteins C3, C6 and Factor B were raised in the patient group when compared with the controls. Our results suggest a relationship between acute mania and immunological parameters associated with acute phase responses.

Immune function in aged women is improved by ingestion of vitamins C and E

We have investigated the effects of supplementation of the diet with the antioxidant vitamins C and E on several functions of the immune response of aged women. Ten healthy women and 20 women (72 ± 6 years old) suffering two diseases often associated with age (10 with major depression disorders, MDD, and 10 with coronary heart disease, CHD) were administered 1 g of vitamin C and 200 mg of vitamin E daily for 16 weeks. Blood samples were collected before and after treatment for measurement of several immunological functions, namely proliferative response of lymphocytes to the mitogen phytohemagglutinin (20 mg/L) and phagocytic functions of polymorphonuclear (PMN) neutrophils, i.e., adherence to vascular endothelium, chemotaxis, phagocytosis of latex beads, and superoxide anion production. In addition, we also determined the levels of serum cortisol and lipid peroxides. Intake of vitamins resulted in a significant increase in the lymphoproliferative capacity and in the phagocytic functions of PMN neutrophils as well as in a significant decrease of serum levels of lipid peroxides and cortisol, both in the healthy aged women and in the aged women with MDD or CHD. These findings suggest an important role of antioxidant supplementation in the improvement of immune function in aged females as well as in the prevention and treatment of specific diseases associated with age that are quite prevalent in the developed countries.Key words: vitamins C and E, ageing, lymphocytes, neutrophils, lipid peroxides, cortisol.

Blood levels of cytokines in elderly patients with major depressive disorder

Plasma concentrations of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) were measured in 10 elderly women with major depressive disorder (MDD) and in two groups of controls, one consisting of 10 age-matched healthy female volunteers and one consisting of 10 young healthy female volunteers. The cytokine concentrations were measured in MDD patients before and after 30 days of treatment with phosphatidylserine (BC-PS), 600 mg daily p.o. The plasma IL-Ibeta, IL-6 and TNFalpha concentrations did not differ significantly in young controls, elderly controls and MDD patients. BC-PS therapy, while significantly improving the depressive symptoms, did not alter the cytokine concentrations.