Archival ReportEffects of Erythropoietin on Hippocampal Volume and Memory in Mood Disorders
Section snippets
Study Design and Participants
This article is based on a previously reported double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study (23, 24). In brief, patients, 18 to 65 years of age, were recruited through the Clinic for Affective Disorders, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, and by advertisement on relevant websites and screened with Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry to confirm ICD-10 diagnosis. Eligible patients had a diagnosis of major depression and fulfilled the criteria for TRD based on assessment of
Patient Flow and Characteristics
Table 1 and the CONSORT chart in Supplement 1 display patient flow and characteristics, respectively. Of the 84 patients that were randomized to EPO (n = 42) or saline (n = 42), 1 patient withdrew at baseline and data collection was incomplete for 14 patients (for details, see the CONSORT chart in Supplement 1). Six EPO-treated patients (3 TRD, 3 BD) were discontinued from their infusions between weeks 5 and 7 due to increased thrombocyte counts (>4 × 109/L) but continued all assessments.
Discussion
This study is the first to prospectively elucidate the neuroanatomical underpinnings of the cognitive improvement observed in EPO-treated patients with BD or TRD. The study demonstrated that EPO treatment is associated with prevention of brain matter loss in a subfield of the left hippocampus encompassing the CA1-3 region and subiculum and improves verbal memory independent of changes in mood. Across the whole cohort, verbal memory improvement was mediated by structural increase in this left
Acknowledgments And Disclosures
The study was funded by the Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Beckett Fonden, and Savværksejer Juhl’s Mindefond. The sponsors had no role in the planning or conduct of the study or in the interpretation of the results.
We thank A. John Rush, M.D., Professor Emeritus, National University of Singapore, and Martin B. Jørgensen, M.D., DMsc, Professor, for their valuable feedback on the manuscript; David Cole, Ph.D., for statistical advice regarding
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