Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38594753›Full record

Trial reportTrials2024

Validation of the predictive value of BDNF -87 methylation for antidepressant treatment success in severely depressed patients-a randomized rater-blinded trial.

Hannah Benedictine Maier, Alexandra Neyazi, Gabriel L Bundies, Fiona Meyer-Bockenkamp, Stefan Bleich, Hansi Pathak, Yvonne Ziert, Barbara Neuhaus, Franz-Josef Müller, Iris Pollmann and 22 more

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Precision medicine in mental health: applications, challenges, and recommendations.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. [Research Progress in the Mechanisms of Acupuncture in Regulating DNA Methylation].Sichuan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Sichuan University. Medical science edition · 2025
    Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

32 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.

Hannah Benedictine MaierDepartment of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany. Maier.Hannah@mh-hannover.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2368-1235
Alexandra NeyaziDepartment of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany.
Gabriel L BundiesDepartment of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany.
Fiona Meyer-BockenkampDepartment of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany.
Stefan BleichDepartment of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany.
Hansi PathakDepartment of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany.
Yvonne ZiertInstitute of Biostatistics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Barbara NeuhausCenter for Clinial Trials (ZKS), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Franz-Josef MüllerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Schleswig Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
Iris PollmannDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Schleswig Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
Thomas IlligHannover Unified Biobank, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Stefanie MückeHannover Unified Biobank, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Meike MüllerDepartment of Biomarker Analysis and Development, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Hannover, Germany.
Brinja Kira MöllerDepartment of Biomarker Analysis and Development, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Hannover, Germany.
Steffen Oeltze-JafraPeter L. Reichertz Institute for Medical Informatics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Tim KacprowskiDivision Data Science in Biomedicine, Peter L. Reichertz Institute of Technische Universität Braunschweig and Hannover Medical School, Braunschweig, Germany.
Jan VogesInstitut Für Informationsverarbeitung, Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
Fabian MünteferingInstitut Für Informationsverarbeitung, Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
Josef ScheiberBioVariance GmbH, Tirschenreuth, Germany.
Andreas ReifDepartment for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt - Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Mareike AichholzerDepartment for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt - Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Christine Reif-LeonhardDepartment for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt - Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Maren Schmidt-KassowDepartment for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt - Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Ulrich HegerlGerman Foundation for Depression and Suicide Prevention, Leipzig, Germany.
Hanna ReichDepartment for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt - Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Stefan UntereckerDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg (UKW), Würzburg, Germany.
Heike WeberDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg (UKW), Würzburg, Germany.
Jürgen DeckertDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg (UKW), Würzburg, Germany.
Nicole Bössel-DebbertDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Hans J GrabeDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Michael LuchtDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Helge FrielingDepartment of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany.
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover · DEGoethe University Frankfurt · DEUniversitätsklinikum Würzburg · DEUniversitätsmedizin Greifswald · DEFraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine · DELeibniz University Hannover · DEUniversity Hospital Schleswig-Holstein · DE

Funding

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung 01EK2204A
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBrain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is essential for antidepressant treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Our repeated studies suggest that DNA methylation of a specific CpG site in the promoter region of exon IV of the BDNF gene (CpG -87) might be predictive of the efficacy of monoaminergic antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and others. This trial aims to evaluate whether knowing the biomarker is non-inferior to treatment-as-usual (TAU) regarding remission rates while exhibiting significantly fewer adverse events (AE).

methodsThe BDNF trial is a prospective, randomized, rater-blinded diagnostic study conducted at five university hospitals in Germany. The study's main hypothesis is that {1} knowing the methylation status of CpG -87 is non-inferior to not knowing it with respect to the remission rate while it significantly reduces the AE rate in patients experiencing at least one AE. The baseline assessment will occur upon hospitalization and a follow-up assessment on day 49 (± 3). A telephone follow-up will be conducted on day 70 (± 3). A total of 256 patients will be recruited, and methylation will be evaluated in all participants. They will be randomly assigned to either the marker or the TAU group. In the marker group, the methylation results will be shared with both the patient and their treating physician. In the TAU group, neither the patients nor their treating physicians will receive the marker status. The primary endpoints include the rate of patients achieving remission on day 49 (± 3), defined as a score of ≤ 10 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-24), and the occurrence of AE. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The trial protocol has received approval from the Institutional Review Boards at the five participating universities. This trial holds significance in generating valuable data on a predictive biomarker for antidepressant treatment in patients with MDD. The findings will be shared with study participants, disseminated through professional society meetings, and published in peer-reviewed journals.

trial registrationGerman Clinical Trial Register DRKS00032503. Registered on 17 August 2023.

Indexed as

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorMajor Depressive DisorderAntidepressive AgentsBiomarkersHumansMethylationProspective StudiesSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsAntidepressive AgentsBiomarkersBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsBDNFBiomarkerMajor depressive disorderRCT

Identifiers

PMID38594753
PMCPMC11005235
OpenAlexW4394601192

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Registered trials

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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.