Cholesterol Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cholesterol, including details on high cholesterol, hdl, ldl, diet, risks. | ||||||||
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Changes in plasma cholesterol in mood disorder patients: does treatment make a difference?Gabriel A University of Calgary, Airport Business Center, 2000 Pegasus Road NE, Calgary Alberta, Canada T2E 8K7. Gabriel@ucalgary.ca OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of treatment in patients with acute episodes of major depressive (MD) and manic or hypomanic (M/HM) episodes and co-morbid generalized anxiety symptoms, on the total cholesterol blood levels (TC). METHOD: A consenting series of patients with acute episodes of DSM IV-R confirmed diagnosis of MD or M/H were included. Subjects were treated with antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or both. The Hamilton depression scale (HAM-D21), the modified mania rating scale (MMRS), and the Hamilton anxiety scale (HAM-A) were utilized to evaluate clinical symptoms. Blood samples were drawn for TC estimations after 10 h of fasting on two occasions over time. The first sample was taken before treatment was started, and the second 4 weeks after treatment. The relationship between changes in TC and the severity of psychiatric symptoms, as measured on HAM-D, MMRS, and the HAM-A, were analysed. RESULTS: 56 subjects (34 with MD and 22 with M/HM episodes) completed the study. About 4 weeks after treatment there was a statistically significant increase in the TC in patients with MD versus a significant decrease in patients with M/HM episodes. CONCLUSION: Our results replicate earlier reports of significant increase in the cholesterol levels in depressed patients after treatment. We report a significant decrease of TC levels in M/HM episodes with treatment. Although the results in previous reports and in our study are statistically significant, their clinical significance requires further examination in longer-term studies. Published 26 February 2007 in J Affect Disord, 99(1): 273-8.
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