Gender differences in platelet brain derived neurotrophic factor in patients with cardiovascular disease and depression

Abstract Women have a higher prevalence of depression compared to men. Serum levels of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are decreased in depression. BDNF may also have a protective role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) or events. We examined whether there are gender differences in BDNF levels in patients with stable CAD and comorbid depression. We enrolled 37 patients (17 women) with stable CAD with and without depression from a single medical center. All patients had depression assessment with the Beck Depression Inventory-II questionnaire. Both plasma and platelet BDNF were measured in all patients using a standard ELISA method. Platelet BDNF levels were higher than plasma BDNF levels in the entire group (5903.9 ± 1915.6 vs 848.5 ± 460.5 pg/ml, p