Profiling of Serum Immunoglobulins in Bangladeshi Major Depressive Disorder Patients

Abstract

Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder characterized by a pervasive and persistent low mood which is accompanied by low self-esteem and loss of interest or pleasure in day to day activities that adversely affects a person’s family, work, and personal life. There is no sufficient laboratory test for the diagnosis of MDD and it is expected that this investigation may be helpful for better diagnosis and management of MDD. We aimed to measure serum immunoglobulin levels in MDD patients and control subjects to meet the above demand. Methods: For this purpose, we recruited 88 MDD patients from the department of psychiatry, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka and 89 healthy volunteers from Dhaka city matched with age, sex and socioeconomic status to the patient group. Turbidimetry method was applied to measure serum levels of immunoglobulin A, G, and M where immunoglobulin kit was utilized. Results: The current study revealed that mean serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, G, and M in patients were found to be 209.07 ± 104.93, 791.50 ± 235.67 and 107.92 ± 47.53 mg/dL while those were 195.34 ± 92.16, 763.81 ± 175.89 and 99.17 ± 48.78 mg/dL in control subjects, respectively. Conclusion: Our result indicates that serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, G and M were not significant between the groups and further studies are required to establish these findings.