GWAS results for major depressive disorder (MDD) were taken from the PGC and CONVERGE studies, with the latter focusing on severe melancholic depression.
A number of application studies assessing socio-demographic factors, cognitive and motor impairment, dexamethasone suppression and thyrotropin-releasing hormone, response to psychotherapy and to electroconvulsive therapy support its validity as a measure of melancholia, while functional brain imaging studies suggest that the measure identifies regions of decreased connectivity.
No association between polymorphisms and haplotypes of the AVPR1b, CRHR1 and NR3C1 genes and depression with melancholic features in the course of bipolar disorder.
However, there might be an impact of a -/CT ins/del polymorphism in the enhancer domain of the NET gene on treatment response in melancholic depression, which remains to be functionally investigated in future studies.
In order to further delineate the impact of 5-HT1A gene variation on pharmacoresponse in depression over 6 weeks of antidepressant treatment, the influence of the 5-HT1A-1019C/G (rs6295) polymorphism was investigated in 340 Caucasian patients with a Major Depressive Episode (DSM-IV) with particular attention to the subtype of depression (major depression and melancholic depression).
For inpatients with severe melancholic depression and acute safety concerns, electroconvulsive therapy (or ketamine if ECT refused or ineffective) may be the first-line treatment.
This study considered dexamethasone suppression test (DST) results, Winokur 's familial subtyping, and the presence or absence of melancholia according to DSM-III criteria as potential predictors of response to ECT.
Caffeine Reverts Memory But Not Mood Impairment in a Depression-Prone Mouse Strain with Up-Regulated Adenosine A2A Receptor in Hippocampal Glutamate Synapses.
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is critically involved in basal and fluoxetine-stimulated adult hippocampal cell proliferation and in anxiety, depression, and memory-related behaviors.