Association of Major Depression with Serum Prolidase Activity and Oxidative Stress

Aim: Stress is a major causative factor for the progression of major depressive disorder (MDD). The present study aimed to know the association of serum prolidase activity (SPA) and oxidative stress with the progression of MDD.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Biochemistry, Sir Sunder Lal Hospital, Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The duration of study was September-2011 to August-2016.

Methodology: 80 patients with MDD and 80 healthy controls of matched age and genders were selected. Serums SPA, total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) and total antioxidant status (TAS) were measured spectrophotometrically.

Results: Increased SPA, TOS, and OSI were observed in patients with MDD than healthy controls (all P < 0.001). However, TAS was significantly decreased (P < 0.001). SPA, TOS and OSI were also increased in patients with > 1 years of MDD than patients with ≤ 1 years of MDD. Positive, linear and significant correlations were observed between duration of MDD and SPA, and TOS, and OSI (all P < 0.001). However, negative, linear and significant correlation was observed between duration of MDD and TAS (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The study concluded that SPA and oxidative stress have been significantly increased in the patients with MDD than healthy individuals. Increased SPA and oxidative stress might be significantly correlated to progression of MDD and may be responsible for its pathogenesis.