N-Acetylaspartate Levels in Elderly Patients with Depression during Treatment with Antidepressants and Actovegin

Abstract

Objectives. To study the N-acetylaspartate (NAA) content in the plasma of elderly patients with depression during treatment with antidepressants combined with Actovegin. Materials and methods. Nineteen patients – seven men, 12 women, age 70.5 ± 5.8 years – were treated in hospital conditions. Patients underwent clinical psychiatric evaluation using a series of psychometric scales, along with computerized tomography (CT) and biochemical assay of NAA. Patients received antidepressants (venlafaxine and fluvoxamine at therapeutic doses) and Actovegin for 28 days and were investigated before and after treatment (day 28). Results and conclusions. Decreases in blood NAA were found in pretreatment patients as compared with healthy subjects, with increases after treatment, which corresponded to a significant improvement in patients’ status both clinically and on psychometric scales. Heterogeneity was found in the cohort of patients in relation to the nature of changes in contents (increases or decreases) of NAA, which was not linked with treatment efficacy but correlated with the burden of comorbid somatic diseases, especially vascular, and some CT features (leukoaraiosis). The authors emphasize the preliminary nature of the results.