Cerebrospinal fluid S100B levels reflect symptoms of depression in patients with non-inflammatory neurological disorders

Recent findings document numerous interactions between neuronal and glial systems that likely play a role in the pathophysiology of depression. These findings suggest that glia-derived neurotrophic protein S100B may play a significant role in developing depression. To test the relationship between S100B and depressive symptoms we designed cross-sectional clinical study including S100B serum and CSF levels in neurological patients with non-inflammatory disorders (NIND), who undergone cerebrospinal fluid assessment for diagnostic purposes. The present study was focused on psychometric testing of depression (BDI-II), anxiety (SAS) and alexithymia (TAS-20), and neurochemical measure of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum levels of S100B in 40 NIND inpatients [mean age 41.67]. The main result shows that S100B in CSF is significantly negatively correlated with BDI-II (Spearman R = −0.51, p < 0.0009) but not with SAS and TAS-20. The finding indicates that decreased level of S100B in CSF is related to increased symptoms of depression in the NIND patients.

► S100B and Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE) in neurological patients were examined.
► CSF levels of S100B are significantly negatively correlated with depression.
► CSF levels of NSE are not correlated with depression.
► There is no relationship between serum and CSF levels of S100B protein.