Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T13:10:44.427Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychoendocrinology: arginine vasopressin and resilience in patients with major depressive disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2021

Shereen Mohamed Abdel Mawella ,
Hoda Abdou Hussein ,
Fadia Zyada ,
Amal Abdelaal ,
Doaa R. Ayoub  and
Ahmed Naguy Open the ORCID record for Ahmed Naguy [Opens in a new window]
Shereen Mohamed Abdel Mawella
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Hoda Abdou Hussein
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Fadia Zyada
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Amal Abdelaal
Affiliation:
Chemical and Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Doaa R. Ayoub
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Ahmed Naguy*
Affiliation:
Al-Manara CAP Centre, Kuwait Centre for Mental Health, Shuwaikh, Kuwait
*
* Author for correspondence: Ahmed Naguy, MSc Email: ahmednagy@hotmail.co.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

There is a burgeoning body of evidence suggesting that arginine vasopressin (AVP) acts as a neuromodulator of the stress response. AVP stimulates the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone, synergistic to corticotropin-releasing hormone, which might explain AVP’s role in resilience. Personal hardiness is the bedrock of resilience. Numerous studies have demonstrated elevated plasma levels of AVP in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), suggesting an etiopathogenetic role as well as a novel therapeutic target.

Objective

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between AVP and resilience in patients with MDD and to determine AVP levels in serum of patients with MDD.

Methods

Forty patients with MDD and 40 healthy control subjects were studied using the Dispositional Resilience (Hardiness) Scale by Barton, the Quality of Life Scale, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Biochemical analysis of plasma levels of AVP, using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was performed for all participants.

Results

Levels of AVP were statistically significantly elevated in patients with MDD compared with healthy controls. Psychological hardiness was decreased in patients with MDD compared with healthy controls, a finding also statistically significant. There was a negative correlation between plasma AVP level and psychological hardiness.

Conclusion

AVP and psychological hardiness are negatively correlated, reflecting lower stress resilience. AVP levels are indeed higher in patients struggling with MDD.

Keywords

AVPresilienceMDDpsychological hardinessstress
Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , February 2023 , pp. 41 - 45
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Naguy, A, Moodliar-Rensburg, S, Alamiri, B. Eudemonia and mental bienaise in the wake of COVID-19: a decalogue for building up resilience. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2021;209(4):240–241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stein, DJ. The psychobiology of resilience. CNS Spectr. 2009;14(2 Suppl3):41–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crowley, BJ, Hayslip, BJ, Hobdy, J. Psychological hardiness and adjustment to life events in adulthood. J Adult Dev. 2003;10:237–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naguy, A, Sabir, S. Conceptual reframing of major depressive disorder - acute ‘Psychitis’? Asian J Psychiatr. 2020;47:101848.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shrivastava, A, De Sousa, A, Lodha, P. Resilience as a psychopathological construct for psychiatric disorders. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1192:479–489.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Serafini, G, Canepa, G, Adavastro, G, et al. The relationship between childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self-injury: a systematic review. Front Psychiatry. 2017;8:149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bao, AM, Swaab, DF. The human hypothalamus in mood disorders: the HPA axis in the center. IBRO Rep. 2018;6:45–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moodliar, S, Naguy, A. What’s around the corner in the niche of psychopharmacotherapy of major depressive disorder? Asian J Psychiatr. 2019;46:13–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stein, DJ. Oxytocin and vasopressin: social neuropeptides. CNS Spectr. 2009;14(11):602–606.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caldwell, HK, Aulino, EA, Rodriguez, KM, et al. Social context, stress, neuropsychiatric disorders, and the vasopressin 1b receptor. Front Neurosci. 2017;11:567.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kamiya, M, Sabia, HD, Marella, J, et al. Efficacy and safety of TS-121, a novel vasopressin V1B receptor antagonist, as adjunctive treatment for patients with major depressive disorder: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Psychiatr Res. 2020;128:43–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iijima, M, Yoshimizu, T, Shimazaki, T, et al. Pharmacological profiles of V1B receptor antagonists. Br J Pharmacol. 2014;171:3511–3525.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bartone, PT, Ursano, RJ, Wright, KM, et al. The impact of a military air disaster on the health of assistance workers. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1989;177(6):317–328.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mekhamer, E. Psychological Hardiness Scale. Cairo: Egyptian Anglo Library; 2002.Google Scholar
Bech, P. Rating Scales for Psychopathology, Health Status and Quality of Life. A Compendium on Documentation in Accordance with DSM1-R and WHO-Systems. Berlin: Springer Verlag; 1997.Google Scholar
Beck, AT, Steer, RA, Ball, R., et al. Comparison of Beck Depression Inventories -IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients. J Pers Assess. 1996;67(3):588–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghareeb, AG. Manual of the Arabic BDI-II. Cairo: Anglo Press; 2000.Google Scholar
Holmes, TH, Rahe, RH. The social readjustment rating scale. J Psychosom Res. 1967;11:213–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Okasha, A, Sadek, A, Lotaief, F, et al. The social readjustment rating questionnaire a study of Egyptians. Egypt J Psychiatry. 1981;4(2):273–283.Google Scholar
IBM. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. 20.0 ed. Armonk, NY: IBM; 2011.Google Scholar
Sterling, P, Eyer, J. Allostasis: a new paradigm to explain arousal pathology. In: Fisher, S, Reason, J, eds. Handbook of Life Stress, Cognition, and Health. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1988:629–649.Google Scholar
Ganzel, BL, Morris, PA, Wethington, E. Allostasis and the human brain: integrating models of stress from the social and life sciences. Psychol Rev. 2010;117(1):134–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lohr, JB, Chang, H, Sexton, M, et al. Allostatic load and the cannabinoid system: implications for the treatment of physiological abnormalities in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). CNS Spectr. 2020;25(6):743–749.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morales-Medina, JC, Witchey, SK, Caldwell, HK. (2016). The role of vasopressin in anxiety and depression. In: López-Muñoz, F, Srinivasan, V de Berardis, D, Álamo, C, Kato, T eds. Melatonin, Neuroprotective Agents and Antidepressant Therapy. New Delhi: Springer.Google Scholar
Mello, AD, Mello, MFD, Carpenter, LL, et al. Update on stress and depression: the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Braz J Psychiatry. 2003;25(4):231–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Londen, VL, Kerkof, GA, van den Berg, F, et al. Plasma arginine vasopressin and motor activity in major depression. Biol Psychiatry. 1998;43(3):196–204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meynen, G, Unmehopa, UA, van Heerikhuize, JJ, et al., Increased arginine vasopressin mRNA expression in the human hypothalamus in depression: a preliminary report. Biol Psychiatry. 2006;60(8):892–895.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Surget, A, Belzung, C. Involvement of vasopressin in affective disorders. Eur J Pharmacol. 2008;583:340–349.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Merali, Z, Hayley, S, Kent, P, et al. Impact of repeated stressor exposure on the release of corticotropin-releasing hormone, arginine-vasopressin and bombesin-like peptides at the anterior pituitary. Behav Brain Res. 2009;198(1):105–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maddi, SR. Chapter 2: Personal hardiness as the basis for resilience. In: Hardiness: Turning Stressful Circumstances into Resilient Growth, SpringerBriefs in Psychology. Cham: Springer; 2013:1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maddi, SR. Hardiness: the courage to grow from stresses. J Posit Psychol. 2006;1(3):160–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holsboer, F, Ising, M. Stress hormone regulation: biological role and translation into therapy. Annul Rev Psychol. 2010;61:81–C11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maddi, SR. Hardiness: an operationalization of existential courage. J Humanist Psychol. 2004;44(3):279–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammen, C. Stress and depression. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2005;1:293–319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monroe, SM. Simons AD diathesis-stress theories in the context of life stress research: implications for the depressive disorders. Psychol Bull. 1991;110(3):406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schneiderman, N, Ironson, G, Siegel, SD. Stress and health: psychological, behavioral, and biological determinants. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2005;1:607–628.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muscatell, KA, Slavich, GM, Monroe, SM, et al. Stressful life events, chronic difficulties, and the symptoms of clinical depression. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2009;197(3):154–160. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e318199f77b CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saarijärvi, S, Salminen, JK, Toikka, T, et al. Health-related quality of life among patients with major depression. Nord J Psychiatry. 2002;56(4):261–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cho, Y, Lee, JK, Kim, D-H, et al. Factors associated with quality of life in patients with depression: a nationwide population-based study. PLoS One. 2019;14(7):e0219455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kulkarni, SK, Dhir, A. Current investigational drugs for major depression. Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2009;18(6):767–788.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dhir, A. Investigational drugs for treating major depressive disorder. Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2017;26(1):9–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grady, MM, Stahl, SM. Novel agents in development for the treatment of depression. CNS Spectr. 2013;18(Suppl 1):37–40;quiz 41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Naguy, A. RAADs (rapidly acting anti-depressants) - a quantum leap? Asian J Psychiatr. 2019;44:156–157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Serafini, G, Pompili, M, Innamorati, M, et al. Pharmacological properties of glutamatergic drugs targeting NMDA receptors and their application in major depression. Curr Pharm Des. 2013;19(10):1898–1922.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chaki, S. Vasopressin V1B receptor antagonists as potential antidepressants. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2021;24(6):450–463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed