major depressive disorder – American ME and CFS Society

SSRI Use During Acute COVID-19 Infection Associated with Lower Risk of Long COVID Among Patients with Depression

Abstract:

Background Long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), is a poorly understood condition with symptoms across a range of biological domains that often have debilitating consequences. Some have recently suggested that lingering SARS-CoV-2 virus in the gut may impede serotonin production and that low serotonin may drive many Long COVID symptoms across a range of biological systems. Therefore, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase synaptic serotonin availability, may prevent or treat Long COVID. SSRIs are commonly prescribed for depression, therefore restricting a study sample to only include patients with depression can reduce the concern of confounding by indication.

Methods In an observational sample of electronic health records from patients in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) with a COVID-19 diagnosis between September 1, 2021, and December 1, 2022, and pre-existing major depressive disorder, the leading indication for SSRI use, we evaluated the relationship between SSRI use at the time of COVID-19 infection and subsequent 12-month risk of Long COVID (defined by ICD-10 code U09.9). We defined SSRI use as a prescription for SSRI medication beginning at least 30 days before COVID-19 infection and not ending before COVID-19 infection. To minimize bias, we estimated the causal associations of interest using a nonparametric approach, targeted maximum likelihood estimation, to aggressively adjust for high-dimensional covariates.

Results We analyzed a sample (n = 506,903) of patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder before COVID-19 diagnosis, where 124,928 (25%) were using an SSRI. We found that SSRI users had a significantly lower risk of Long COVID compared to nonusers (adjusted causal relative risk 0.90, 95% CI (0.86, 0.94)).

Conclusion These findings suggest that SSRI use during COVID-19 infection may be protective against Long COVID, supporting the hypothesis that serotonin may be a key mechanistic biomarker of Long COVID.

Source: Zachary Butzin-Dozier, Yunwen Ji, Sarang Deshpande, Eric Hurwitz, Jeremy Coyle, Junming (Seraphina) Shi, Andrew Mertens, Mark J. van der Laan, John M. Colford Jr., Rena C. Patel, Alan E. Hubbard, the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Consortium. SSRI Use During Acute COVID-19 Infection Associated with Lower Risk of Long COVID Among Patients with Depression. medRxiv 2024.02.05.24302352; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.05.24302352 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.05.24302352v1.full-text (Full text)

In severe first episode major depressive disorder, psychosomatic, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia symptoms are driven by immune activation and increased immune-associated neurotoxicity.

Abstract:

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is accompanied by activated neuro-immune pathways, increased physiosomatic and chronic fatigue-fibromyalgia (FF) symptoms. The most severe MDD phenotype, namely major dysmood disorder (MDMD), is associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and negative life events (NLEs) which induce cytokines/chemokines/growth factors.

Aims: To delineate the impact of ACE+NLEs on physiosomatic and FF symptoms in first episode (FE)-MDMD, and examine whether these effects are mediated by immune profiles.

Methods: ACEs, NLEs, physiosomatic and FF symptoms, and 48 cytokines/chemokines/growth factors were measured in 64 FE-MDMD patients and 32 normal controls.

Results: Physiosomatic, FF and gastro-intestinal symptoms belong to the same factor as depression, anxiety, melancholia, and insomnia. The first factor extracted from these seven domains is labeled the physio-affective phenome of depression. A part (59.0%) of the variance in physiosomatic symptoms is explained by the independent effects of interleukin (IL)-16 and IL-8 (positively), CCL3 and IL-1 receptor antagonist (inversely correlated). A part (46.5%) of the variance in physiosomatic (59.0%) symptoms is explained by the independent effects of interleukin (IL)-16, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) (positively) and combined activities of negative immunoregulatory cytokines (inversely associated).

Partial Least Squares analysis shows that ACE+NLEs exert a substantial influence on the physio-affective phenome which are partly mediated by an immune network composed of interleukin-16, CCL27, TRAIL, macrophage-colony stimulating factor, and stem cell growth factor.

Conclusions: The physiosomatic and FF symptoms of FE-MDMD are partly caused by immuneassociated neurotoxicity due to Th-1 polarization, T helper-1, and M1 macrophage activation and relative lowered compensatory immunoregulatory protection.

Source: Michael Maes, Abbas F Almulla, Bo Zhou, Ali Abbas Abo Algon, Pimpayao Sodsai. In severe first episode major depressive disorder, psychosomatic, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia symptoms are driven by immune activation and increased immune-associated neurotoxicity. ResearchGate [Preprint] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372940821_In_severe_first_episode_major_depressive_disorder_psychosomatic_chronic_fatigue_syndrome_and_fibromyalgia_symptoms_are_driven_by_immune_activation_and_increased_immune-associated_neurotoxicity (Full text)

Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Show Characteristic Heart Rate Variability Profiles Reflecting Autonomic Dysregulations: Differentiation by Linear Discriminant Analysis

Abstract:

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have overlapping symptoms, and differentiation is important to administer the proper treatment.

The present study aimed to assess the usefulness of heart rate variability (HRV) indices.

Frequency-domain HRV indices, including high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) components, their sum (LF+HF), and their ratio (LF/HF), were measured in a three-behavioral-state paradigm composed of initial rest (Rest), task load (Task), and post-task rest (After) periods to examine autonomic regulation.

It was found that HF was low at Rest in both disorders, but was lower in MDD than in CFS. LF and LF+HF at Rest were low only in MDD. Attenuated responses of LF, HF, LF+HF, and LF/HF to task load and an excessive increase in HF at After were found in both disorders.

The results indicate that an overall HRV reduction at Rest may support a diagnosis of MDD. HF reduction was found in CFS, but with a lesser severity.

Response disturbances of HRV to Task were observed in both disorders, and would suggest the presence of CFS when the baseline HRV has not been reduced.

Linear discriminant analysis using HRV indices was able to differentiate MDD from CFS, with a sensitivity and specificity of 91.8% and 100%, respectively. HRV indices in MDD and CFS show both common and different profiles, and can be useful for the differential diagnosis.

Source: Shinba T, Kuratsune D, Shinba S, Shinba Y, Sun G, Matsui T, Kuratsune H. Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Show Characteristic Heart Rate Variability Profiles Reflecting Autonomic Dysregulations: Differentiation by Linear Discriminant Analysis. Sensors. 2023; 23(11):5330. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23115330 https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/11/5330 (Full text)

Central pathways causing fatigue in neuro-inflammatory and autoimmune illnesses

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The genesis of severe fatigue and disability in people following acute pathogen invasion involves the activation of Toll-like receptors followed by the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and the activation of microglia and astrocytes. Many patients suffering from neuroinflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and systemic lupus erythematosus, also commonly suffer from severe disabling fatigue.

Such patients also present with chronic peripheral immune activation and systemic inflammation in the guise of elevated proinflammtory cytokines, oxidative stress and activated Toll-like receptors. This is also true of many patients presenting with severe, apparently idiopathic, fatigue accompanied by profound levels of physical and cognitive disability often afforded the non-specific diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.

DISCUSSION: Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate a positive association between the degree of peripheral immune activation, inflammation and oxidative stress, gray matter atrophy, glucose hypometabolism and cerebral hypoperfusion in illness, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and chronic fatigue syndrome. Most, if not all, of these abnormalities can be explained by a reduction in the numbers and function of astrocytes secondary to peripheral immune activation and inflammation.

This is also true of the widespread mitochondrial dysfunction seen in otherwise normal tissue in neuroinflammatory, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases and in many patients with disabling, apparently idiopathic, fatigue. Given the strong association between peripheral immune activation and neuroinflammation with the genesis of fatigue the latter group of patients should be examined using FLAIR magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tested for the presence of peripheral immune activation.

SUMMARY: It is concluded that peripheral inflammation and immune activation, together with the subsequent activation of glial cells and mitochondrial damage, likely account for the severe levels of intractable fatigue and disability seen in many patients with neuroimmune and autoimmune diseases.This would also appear to be the case for many patients afforded a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Source: Morris G, Berk M, Walder K, Maes M. Central pathways causing fatigue in neuro-inflammatory and autoimmune illnesses. BMC Med. 2015 Feb 6;13:28. doi: 10.1186/s12916-014-0259-2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4320458/ (Full article)