ArticleBrain and behavior2021
Electroconvulsive therapy increases temporarily plasma vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with major depressive disorder.
Article in Brain and behavior, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brain stimulation and VEGF concentrations: meta-analysis, meta-regression, and hierarchical cluster analysis of 200 correlations.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on cortical thickness in depression: a systematic review.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2024Pooled it
- Electroacupuncture Ameliorates Depressive-Like Behaviors by Enhancing Autophagy to Attenuate Hippocampal Neuroinflammation via the VEGF/AKT1/ERK Pathway in CUMS Rats.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- New insights into the mechanisms of electroconvulsive therapy in treatment-resistant depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Vascular endothelial growth factor: a key factor in the onset and treatment of depression.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Review
- Clinical Improvement in Depression and Cognitive Deficit Following Electroconvulsive Therapy.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Electroconvulsive therapy increases temporarily plasma vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with major depressive disorder.Brain and behavior · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been related to the etiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). The findings involving the effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the VEGF levels have been conflicting. The aim was to examine the possible changes in the VEGF levels and their associations with clinical outcome in patients with MDD during ECT.
methodsThe study comprised 30 patients suffering from MDD. Their plasma VEGF levels were measured at baseline and 2 and 4 hr after the first, fifth, and last ECT session. The severity of depression was quantified by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS).
resultsThe VEGF levels increased between the 2-hr and 4-hr measurements during the first (p = .003) and the fifth (p = .017) sessions. The baseline VEGF levels between individual ECT sessions remained unchanged during the ECT series. No correlations were found between the increased VEGF levels and the clinical outcome.
conclusionsElectroconvulsive therapy increased the VEGF levels repeatedly at the same time point in two different ECT sessions. These increases had no association with the response to ECT. Consequently, VEGF may act as a mediator in the mechanism of action of ECT.
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