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The effects of exercise on oxidative stress (TBARS) and BDNF in severely depressed inpatients

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Abstract

Exercise can be an effective treatment for depression. Although the efficacy of exercise is well established, little is known concerning the biological changes associated with the antidepressant effects of exercise. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of adding exercise to the usual treatment on the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) serum levels of severely depressed inpatients. Twenty-six participants were randomized to an exercise group (n = 15, exercise + treatment as usual) or a control group (n = 11, treatment as usual). The participants in the exercise group completed a targeted dose of 16.5 kcal/kg/week of aerobic exercise, three times per week, throughout their hospitalizations. The control group did not exercise during their hospitalizations. The mean hospitalization length was of 21.63 (4.5) × 23.82 (5.7) days for exercise and control groups, respectively. The exercise group performed a median of nine sessions. After adjusting for previous tobacco use, a significant group × time interaction was found for TBARS serum levels (p = 0.02). A post hoc Bonferroni test revealed differences between the exercise and control groups at discharge. A significant time effect (p < 0.001) but no group × time interaction was found (p = 0.13) for BDNF serum levels. Adding exercise to the usual treatment of severely depressed inpatients decreases the TBARS serum levels of severely depressed inpatients after 3 weeks. Adding exercise had no additional effects on BDNF serum levels.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Flavio Kapczinski and the Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre for his molecular analyses. We also thank the psychiatric inpatient unit of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. We are grateful to the Grupo de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação (GPPG) of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre for the statistical analyses and funding of this study. This study was funded by grants from Fundo de Incentivo a Pesquisa e Eventos do Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre (FIPE-HCPA) and Coordenação de aperfeiçoamento de pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas: Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Felipe Barreto Schuch, Mirela Paiva Vasconcelos-Moreno, Ana Beatriz Zimmermann & Marcelo Pio de Almeida Fleck

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas: Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Bianca Wollenhaupt-Aguiar & Pamela Ferrari

  3. Laboratório de Psiquiatria Molecular, Centro de Pesquisas Experimentais, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Mirela Paiva Vasconcelos-Moreno, Bianca Wollenhaupt-Aguiar & Pamela Ferrari

  4. INCT for Translational Medicine, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Mirela Paiva Vasconcelos-Moreno, Bianca Wollenhaupt-Aguiar & Pamela Ferrari

  5. Departamento de Psiquiatria e Medicina Legal, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Felipe Barreto Schuch, Mirela Paiva Vasconcelos-Moreno, Carolina Borowsky, Ana Beatriz Zimmermann, Bianca Wollenhaupt-Aguiar, Pamela Ferrari & Marcelo Pio de Almeida Fleck

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  1. Felipe Barreto Schuch
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Correspondence to Felipe Barreto Schuch.

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Schuch, F.B., Vasconcelos-Moreno, M.P., Borowsky, C. et al. The effects of exercise on oxidative stress (TBARS) and BDNF in severely depressed inpatients. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 264, 605–613 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-014-0489-5

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