Evaluation of Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor to Assess the Association Between Psoriasis and Depression

The study evaluated the association between depression and psoriasis by measuring serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in 90 participants across three groups: those with psoriasis, those with depression, and a healthy control group. Results indicated that BDNF levels were significantly lower in patients with depression, including those with psoriasis, compared to healthy controls. While the severity of psoriasis did not correlate with BDNF levels, there was a significant correlation between BDNF levels and both life stress and the duration of psoriasis. The study concluded that BDNF levels could be an objective measure for depression in patients with psoriasis, suggesting the need for further research with a larger sample size to investigate BDNF's role in psoriasis pathogenesis.