TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kittel-Schneider, Sarah
A1  - Kenis, Gunter
A1  - Schek, Julia
A1  - van den Hove, Daniel
A1  - Prickaerts, Jos
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
A1  - Steinbusch, Harry
A1  - Reif, Andreas
T1  - Expression of monoamine transporters, nitric oxide synthase 3, and neurotrophin genes in antidepressant-stimulated astrocytes
JF  - Frontiers in Psychiatry
N2  - Background: There is increasing evidence that glial cells play a role in the pathomechanisms of mood disorders and the mode of action of antidepressant drugs. 
Methods: To examine whether there is a direct effect on the expression of different genes encoding proteins that have been implicated in the pathophysiology of affective disorders, primary astrocyte cell cultures from rats were treated with two different antidepressant drugs, imipramine and escitalopram, and the RNA expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf), serotonin transporter (5Htt), dopamine transporter (Dat), and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (Nos3) was examined. 
Results: Stimulation of astroglial cell culture with imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant, led to a significant increase of the Bdnf RNA level whereas treatment with escitalopram did not. In contrast, 5Htt was not differentially expressed after antidepressant treatment. Finally, neither Dat nor Nos3 RNA expression was detected in cultured astrocytes. 
Conclusion: These data provide further evidence for a role of astroglial cells in the molecular mechanisms of action of antidepressants.
KW  - monoamine transporters
KW  - BDNF
KW  - geneexpression
KW  - astrocytes
KW  - glia
KW  - depression
KW  - antidepressant
KW  - mechanismofaction
KW  - nitricoxidesynthase
Y1  - 2012
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-123627
VL  - 3
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kingslake, Jonathan
A1  - Dias, Rebecca
A1  - Dawson, Gerard R.
A1  - Simon, Judit
A1  - Goodwin, Guy M.
A1  - Harmer, Catherine J.
A1  - Morriss, Richard
A1  - Brown, Susan
A1  - Guo, Boliang
A1  - Dourish, Colin T.
A1  - Ruhé, Henricus G.
A1  - Lever, Anne G.
A1  - Veltman, Dick J.
A1  - van Schaik, Anneke
A1  - Deckert, Jürgen
A1  - Reif, Andreas
A1  - Stäblein, Michael
A1  - Menke, Andreas
A1  - Gorwood, Philip
A1  - Voegeli, Géraldine
A1  - Perez, Victor
A1  - Browning, Michael
T1  - The effects of using the PReDicT Test to guide the antidepressant treatment of depressed patients: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
JF  - Trials
N2  - Background
Antidepressant medication is commonly used to treat depression. However, many patients do not respond to the first medication prescribed and improvements in symptoms are generally only detectable by clinicians 4–6 weeks after the medication has been initiated. As a result, there is often a long delay between the decision to initiate an antidepressant medication and the identification of an effective treatment regimen.

Previous work has demonstrated that antidepressant medications alter subtle measures of affective cognition in depressed patients, such as the appraisal of facial expression. Furthermore, these cognitive effects of antidepressants are apparent early in the course of treatment and can also predict later clinical response. This trial will assess whether an electronic test of affective cognition and symptoms (the Predicting Response to Depression Treatment Test; PReDicT Test) can be used to guide antidepressant treatment in depressed patients and, therefore, hasten treatment response compared to a control group of patients treated as usual.

Methods/design
The study is a randomised, two-arm, multi-centre, open-label, clinical investigation of a medical device, the PReDicT Test. It will be conducted in five European countries (UK, France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands) in depressed patients who are commencing antidepressant medication. Patients will be randomised to treatment guided by the PReDicT Test (PReDicT arm) or to Treatment as Usual (TaU arm). Patients in the TaU arm will be treated as per current standard guidelines in their particular country. Patients in the PReDicT arm will complete the PReDicT Test after 1 (and if necessary, 2) weeks of treatment. If the test indicates non-response to the treatment, physicians will be advised to immediately alter the patient’s antidepressant therapy by dose escalation or switching to another compound. The primary outcome of the study is the proportion of patients showing a clinical response (defined as 50% or greater decrease in baseline scores of depressionmeasured using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms – Self-Rated questionnaire) at week 8. Health economic and acceptability data will also be collected and analysed.

Discussion
This trial will test the clinical efficacy, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of using the novel PReDicT Test to guide antidepressant treatment selection in depressed patients.

Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT02790970. Registered on 30 March 2016.
KW  - psychiatry
KW  - depression
KW  - prediction
KW  - treatment
KW  - antidepressant
KW  - primary care
Y1  - 2017
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-173012
VL  - 18
ER  -