Dear colleagues,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the sixth issue of 2012.
In our first article Tang et al. provide a critical review on the role of hippocampal neurogenesis in the mechanism of antidepressant drug action. They concluded that synaptogenesis and re-organization or re-integration of new neurons rather than neurogenesis are associated with antidepressant mechanism of action in the reversal of some but not all symptoms in depression.
Spindelegger and colleagues examined the influence of light, in particular sunshine, on mood and energy levels. They found that global light radiation correlated to a lower serotonin-1A receptor binding in cortical and subcortical limbic regions in the human brain. The importance of seasonal factors combined with seasonal fluctuation in the serotonin system, including also transporter availability, was underlined.
Blumberger et al. compared unilateral and bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant major depression. According to their results the remission rate of patients treated with bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was significantly higher than of those treated with sham rTMS.
Hegerl and colleagues investigated the effect of major depressive disorder on vigilance. The results support the hypothesis that depressive patients show less and later declines into lower EEG vigilance stages under resting conditions than healthy controls.
Biedermann et al. assessed the increase of hippocampal glutamate after electroconvulsive treatment (ECT). Their results support the notion of disordered hippocampal metabolism in an animal model of treatment resistant depression and suggest an early impact of electroconvulsive shocks (ECS) on MR-detectable hippocampal metabolities.
Yamawaki and colleagues sought to evaluate the effect of sodium butyrate (SB) and its molecular mechanism of action in the rat hippocampus. Their results suggest that alternations in gene expression might possibly be involved in the antidepressant-like effect of SB.
Isung et al. present a brief report on low plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) associated with completed suicide. Their results showed a trend for lower interleukin (IL-2) and for higher interferon-gamma (IFNG) levels in suicide victims.
Berlim and colleagues investigated the influence of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD). They showed that HF-rTMS is able to influence “theory of mind” (ToM) in subjects with MDD. However, further studies with larger samples and controlled designs are needed to clarify their preliminary findings.
Yours sincerely,
Siegfried Kasper, MD
Chief Editor