Abstract
Introduction Purine metabolism may be affected in major depressive disorder (MDD). Increased enzymatic activity of the purine cycle has been observed in MDD. In MDD patients, purine metabolite levels also react to sertraline treatment. Objectives To compare serum purine metabolites between: 1) MDD patients and non-depressed controls; and 2) remitted and non-remitted MDD patients. Aims To clarify the role of purine metabolism in MDD during active illness and recovery. Methods The sample comprised 99 MDD patients (DSM-IV, SCID interview) and 318 non-depressed controls (Beck Depression Inventory scores Results The participants’ likelihood of belonging to the MDD group increased 1.1-fold for each 1-unit decrease in serum inosine, 3.2-fold for each 1-unit decrease in guanosine levels and 2.2-fold for each 1-unit increase in xanthine levels. The remitted and non-remitted groups displayed no significant metabolite differences, but the remitted group showed a non-significant shift of values towards the values of the non-depressed group. Conclusions Increased degradation of purines and accumulation of xanthine may characterise MDD. Alterations in purine metabolism appear to only partially change during recovery. Nevertheless, recovery-related changes require further investigation in larger samples.
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