Project Details
Projekt
Associations between depressive co-morbidity, anxiety sensitivity, inflammatory and neutrophic markers in patients with chronic heart failure
Applicant
Dr. Thomas Müller-Tasch
Subject Area
Biological Psychiatry
Term
from 2008 to 2010
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 74585294
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is prevalent in over 5% of people older than 65 years. It goes along with severe functional limitations. Over 20% of CHF patients suffer from clinically significant depression which is a predictor of increased health care use, hospitalisation and mortality. The mechanisms behind these negative effects of depression are not fully understood. Besides difficulties in treatment adherence as a result of depressive symptomatology, pathophysiologic processes have been described in depressive disorders: an excessive activation of the sympathetic nervous system, hypercortisolism, elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines and decreased levels of neurotrophic factors that normally regulate neuronal outgrowth and synaptic connectivity. Anxiety sensitivity, the fear of anxiety-related sensations, may also be associated with inflammatory or neuroendocrine changes, but has not been investigated in CHF patients so far.Within the scope of this research project proposal, associations between depression, anxiety sensitivity, cytokines and neurotrophins will be investigated by means of data from a large clinical intervention trial in patients with CHF. Using the results of theses analyses, potential changes of inflammatory and neurotrophic factors under pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment of AS or depressive co-morbidity in CHF patients can be evaluated in future studies.
DFG Programme
Research Fellowships
International Connection
Canada
