Trial reportPsychopharmacology2021
Distinct association of plasma BDNF concentration and cognitive function in depressed patients treated with vortioxetine or escitalopram.
Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparing the effect of fluoxetine, escitalopram, and sertraline, on the level of BDNF and depression in preclinical and clinical studies: a systematic review.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) as a Predictor of Treatment Response in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- The behavioural effects of the serotonin 1A receptor agonist buspirone on cognition and emotional processing in healthy volunteers.Psychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- The Comparative Efficacy of Antidepressant and Psychological Therapies on Cognition in Depression: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Neuropsychology review · 2025Review
- Disease-Modifying Symptomatic Treatment (DMST): The Potential Role of Vortioxetine in the Treatment of Depression in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Review
- Are BDNF and Stress Levels Related to Antidepressant Response?International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Biomarker-Guided Tailored Therapy in Major Depression.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Review
- Association between increased serum interleukin-8 levels and improved cognition in major depressive patients with SSRIs.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Pharmacological targeting of cognitive impairment in depression: recent developments and challenges in human clinical research.Translational psychiatry · 2022Review
- A Bibliometric Analysis of Research on the Role of BDNF in Depression and Treatment.Biomolecules · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleCognitive dysfunction is frequent in major depressive disorder (MDD), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved both in regulation of cognition and in therapeutic response in MDD.
objectivesThe aim of this study was to determine if baseline plasma BDNF might predict change in cognitive function in MDD patients treated with vortioxetine or escitalopram, and whether the alterations in BDNF levels correlate with changes in cognitive performance during treatment.
methodsDrug-naive or drug-free patients with MDD (N=121) were sampled and evaluated at baseline and 4 weeks after treatment initiation with vortioxetine or escitalopram. Cognitive function was evaluated using the F-A-S test, Digit Span test, and Digit Symbol Coding test. Plasma BDNF was determined using ELISA.
resultsThe results of the study indicate that both vortioxetine (V) and escitalopram (E) improved cognitive functions evaluated with F-A-S test (V: p<0.001; r=-0.427, E: p<0.001; r=-0.370), Digit Symbol Coding test (V: p<0.001; r=-0.706, E: p<0.001; r=-0.435), and Digit Span test-backward span (V: p=0.001; r=-0.311, E: p=0.042; r=-0.185), while only vortioxetine (p<0.001; r=-0.325) improved cognition evaluated with the Digit Span test-forward span. A moderate positive correlation between pretreatment plasma BDNF levels and improvement in cognitive performance was only detected in patients treated with vortioxetine (delta F-A-S test: p=0.011; r=0.325, delta Digit Span test-forward span: p=0.010, r=0.326).
conclusionsThese results suggest that higher baseline plasma BDNF levels might be associated with improvements in verbal fluency and working memory in vortioxetine, but not escitalopram treated patients. Vortioxetine treatment was superior in simple attention efficiency.
Indexed as
Identifiers
33560444What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.