Clinical psychiatry Can plasma nesfatin-1 level predict major depressive disorder?

Objective: After the development of molecular biology, many neuropeptides have been identified and described. A recently discovered neuropeptid Nesfatin-1, derived from the nucleobindin 2 (NUCB2) precursor, consists of 82 amino acids. Oh firstly described that intracerebroventricular injection of NUCB2 reduces feeding in a dose dependent manner in rats. With regard to anorectic properties, recent studies showed that plasma concentration of nesfatin- 1 is associated with major depression.

Method: Sixty five patients diagnosed with MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) according to DSM-IV and healthy volunteers (n=19) with matching BMI, age, and sex were included in the study. Plasma nesfatin-1 levels were measured using a commercial ELISA kit (USCN Life Science, PRC). Statistical analysis was performed using MedCalc 11.6.0.0 software. Comparisons between groups were made using Mann-Whitney U test. The capacity of plasma Nesfatin-1 level in predicting presence of major depression disorder was analyzed using ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristics) curve analysis. The p values less then 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: The mean±SD Nesfatin-1 levels were 2.15±0.53 ng/mL and 1.75±0.23 ng/mL in patients and control groups, respectively. Differences between groups were statistically significant (p<0.001). ROC curve analysis showed statistically significant associations between Nesfatin-1 levels and MDD. Optimizing the sensitivity and specificity of the nesfatin-1 levels using ROC analysis provided a cutoff point of 2.0 ng/mL, which corresponded to 47.7% of sensitivity and 94.7% of specificity.

Conclusion: We suggest that Nesfatin-1 levels might be a useful biological tool for screening the MDD.