[Discovering potential biomarkers of depression and drug intervention of paroxetine based on (1)H NMR metabolomics].

The purpose of this study was to find potential biomarkers in the serum of patients with depression and provide the basis for clinical diagnosis of depression. Sixteen patients of severe depression were selected according to the inclusion criteria and 16 healthy people were used in the control group. The depression patients took paroxetine for two weeks. The serum was collected from the patients and healthy control group before and after paroxetine treatment. The samples were analyzed by (1)H NMR based metabolomics to determine the changes in profiles of endogenous metabolites and metabolites with significant differences were selected in analysis. Related pathways and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were examined in analysis of the correlation between the potential biomarkers and depression. Their feasibility and reliability was determined for the clinical practice. Significant differences were observed in the metabolic profile of serum of the patients and the healthy controls. Depression had an effect on metabolism for an increase in leucine, isoleucine and alanine, glutamate, glutamine and N-acetyl-glycoprotein and a decrease in glucose. Those may be considered as potential biomarkers of depression. Clinical application of the biomarkers may improve the objectivity of the diagnosis and treatment of depression by antidepressant drugs. The metabolomics approach is an effective tool in the investigation of biomarkers.