ArticlePsychiatry and clinical neurosciences2022
Left DLPFC activity is associated with plasma kynurenine levels and can predict treatment response to escitalopram in major depressive disorder.
Article in Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Escitalopram versus other antidepressive agents for major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Measures of Connectivity and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Volumes and Depressive Symptoms Following Treatment With Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in Adolescents.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- Metabolic-Brain Functional Coupling Mechanism Underlying iTBS Treatment for Adolescent Depression.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- Optimization of potential targets for antidepressant Chinese medicines: AI and multi-omics methods.Chinese medicine · 2026Review
- Blood-Based Metabolomic Biomarkers and Personality Traits in Major Depressive Disorder: Toward an Integrated Framework for Precision Psychiatry.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Alterations of Blood Plasma Metabolites, Including Kynurenine and Tryptophan, in Bipolar Disorder.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2025Article
- Small molecule metabolites: discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2023Review
- Neurophysiological markers of disease severity and cognitive dysfunction in major depressive disorder: A TMS-EEG study.International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHPArticle
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimTo establish treatment response biomarkers that reflect the pathophysiology of depression, it is important to use an integrated set of features. This study aimed to determine the relationship between regional brain activity at rest and blood metabolites related to treatment response to escitalopram to identify the characteristics of depression that respond to treatment.
methodsBlood metabolite levels and resting-state brain activity were measured in patients with moderate to severe depression (n = 65) before and after 6-8 weeks of treatment with escitalopram, and these were compared between Responders and Nonresponders to treatment. We then examined the relationship between blood metabolites and brain activity related to treatment responsiveness in patients and healthy controls (n = 36).
resultsThirty-two patients (49.2%) showed a clinical response (>50% reduction in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score) and were classified as Responders, and the remaining 33 patients were classified as Nonresponders. The pretreatment fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) value of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and plasma kynurenine levels were lower in Responders, and the rate of increase of both after treatment was correlated with an improvement in symptoms. Moreover, the fALFF value of the left DLPFC was significantly correlated with plasma kynurenine levels in pretreatment patients with depression and healthy controls.
conclusionDecreased resting-state regional activity of the left DLPFC and decreased plasma kynurenine levels may predict treatment response to escitalopram, suggesting that it may be involved in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder in response to escitalopram treatment.
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