Brief psychoeducation for bipolar disorder: Evaluation of trophic factors serum levels in young adults.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of psychoeducation in serum levels of BDNF, NGF and GDNF in young adults presenting bipolar disorder (BD). This is a randomized clinical trial including 39 young adults (18-29 years) diagnosed with BD through the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-CV). Participants were randomized in two treatment groups: usual treatment (medication) and combined intervention (medication plus psychoeducation). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and severity of manic and hypomanic symptoms was evaluated through the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). The serum levels of trophic factors were measured with an ELISA kit. In both intervention groups, there was an improvement in depressive symptoms significantly between baseline and post-intervention. In the combined intervention, GDNF serum levels increased significantly from baseline to post-intervention. However, there were no differences in BDNF and NGF serum levels. In the usual treatment group, no changes were observed in serum levels of GDNF, BDNF, and NGF the post-intervention in individuals. Our data suggests that only combined intervention was effective in improving depressive symptoms and increasing GDNF levels in a sample of young adults with bipolar disorder.