Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and depressive symptoms in coronary heart disease patients: Role of cognitive functions

Biological, Psychological, and Social Determinants of Depression: A Review of Recent Literature

Depression is one of the leading causes of disability, and, if left unmanaged, it can increase the risk for suicide. The evidence base on the determinants of depression is fragmented, which makes the interpretation of the results across studies difficult. The objective of this study is to conduct a thorough synthesis of the literature assessing the biological, psychological, and social determinants of depression in order to piece together the puzzle of the key factors that are related to this condition. Titles and abstracts published between 2017 and 2020 were identified in PubMed, as well as Medline, Scopus, and PsycInfo. Key words relating to biological, social, and psychological determinants as well as depression were applied to the databases, and the screening and data charting of the documents took place. We included 470 documents in this literature review. The findings showed that there are a plethora of risk and protective factors (relating to biological, psychological, and social determinants) that are related to depression; these determinants are interlinked and influence depression outcomes through a web of causation. In this paper, we describe and present the vast, fragmented, and complex literature related to this topic. This review may be used to guide practice, public health efforts, policy, and research related to mental health and, specifically, depression.

Health Benefits of Endurance Training: Implications of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor-A Systematic Review

This article presents a concept that wide expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptors (TrkB) in the nervous tissue, evoked by regular endurance training (ET), can cause numerous motor and metabolic adaptations, which are beneficial for human health. The relationships between the training-evoked increase of endogenous BDNF and molecular and/or physiological adaptations in the nervous structures controlling both motor performance and homeostasis of the whole organism have been presented. Due to a very wide range of plastic changes that ET has exerted on various systems of the body, the improvement of motor skills and counteraction of the development of civilization diseases resulting from the posttraining increase of BDNF/TrkB levels have been discussed, as important for people, who undertake ET. Thus, this report presents the influence of endurance exercises on the (1) transformation of motoneuron properties, which are a final element of the motor pathways, (2) reduction of motor deficits evoked by Parkinson disease, and (3) prevention of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). This review suggests that the increase of posttraining levels of BDNF and its TrkB receptors causes simultaneous changes in the activity of the spinal cord, the substantia nigra, and the hypothalamic nuclei neurons, which are responsible for the alteration of the functional properties of motoneurons innervating the skeletal muscles, for the enhancement of dopamine release in the brain, and for the modulation of hormone levels involved in regulating the metabolic processes, responsively. Finally, training-evoked increase of the BDNF/TrkB leads to a change in a manner of regulation of skeletal muscles, causes a reduction of motor deficits observed in the Parkinson disease, and lowers weight, glucose level, and blood pressure, which accompany the MetS. Therefore, BDNF seems to be the molecular factor of pleiotropic activity, important in the modulation processes, underlying adaptations, which result from ET.