Comparison of plasma catecholamine metabolites in melancholic and non-melancholic depression

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) manifests either with or without melancholic features. Differences in catecholamine dynamics between these two types of MDD are yet to be clarified definitively. We compared and investigated serum catecholamine metabolite levels in patients presenting with MDD for the first time who had never received treatment. We enrolled 78 patients (male/female: 35/43; melancholic/non-melancholic: 30/48) at the Neuropsychiatry Branch of the University Hospital of University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan. The patients were screened for axis I psychiatric disorders using the Japanese version of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and blood sampling was performed on the first day of hospital visit. Major depressive episodes were diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV, Text Revision , and severity of depression was evaluated using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. We observed no significant differences in serum 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol or homovanillic acid levels between healthy controls and untreated patients with either melancholic or non-melancholic MDD. These findings offer evidence suggesting that MDD cannot be simply classified into melancholic and non-melancholic subtypes, but is rather a highly heterogenous disorder with symptoms that extend seamlessly from the grief reactions experienced by healthy individuals. • Serum MHPG levels nor serum HVA levels did not differ among the the three group. • Catechoalminergic activity might not differ among the three group. • MDD is not a disease that can simply be classified into mechancholic and non-melancholic subtypes; rather it is highly heterogenous.