Antiviral treatment perspective against Borna disease virus 1 infection in major depression: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.
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ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Whether Borna disease virus (BDV-1) is a human pathogen remained controversial until recent encephalitis cases showed BDV-1 infection could even be deadly. This called to mind previous evidence for an infectious contribution of BDV-1 to mental disorders. Pilot open trials suggested that BDV-1 infected depressed patients benefitted from antiviral therapy with a licensed drug (amantadine) which also tested sensitive in vitro. Here, we designed a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) which cross-linked depression and BDV-1 infection, addressing both the antidepressant and antiviral efficacy of amantadine. METHODS:The interventional phase II RCT (two 7-weeks-treatment periods and a 12-months follow-up) at the Hannover Medical School (MHH), Germany, assigned currently depressed BDV-1 infected patients with either major depression (MD; N?=?23) or bipolar disorder (BD; N?=?13) to amantadine sulphate (PK-Merz®; twice 100?mg orally daily) or placebo treatment, and contrariwise, respectively. Clinical changes were assessed every 2-3?weeks by the 21-item Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD) (total, single, and combined scores). BDV-1 activity was determined accordingly in blood plasma by enzyme immune assays for antigens (PAG), antibodies (AB) and circulating immune complexes (CIC). RESULTS:Primary outcomes (?25% HAMD reduction, week 7) were 81.3% amantadine vs. 35.3% placebo responder (p?=?0.003), a large clinical effect size (ES; Cohen's d) of 1.046, and excellent drug tolerance. Amantadine was safe reducing suicidal behaviour in the first 2?weeks. Pre-treatment maximum infection levels were predictive of clinical improvement (AB, p?=?0.001; PAG, p?=?0.026; HAMD week 7). Respective PAG and CIC levels correlated with AB reduction (p?=?0,001 and p?=?0.034, respectively). Follow-up benefits (12?months) correlated with dropped cumulative infection measures over time (p?
SUBMITTER: Dietrich DE
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7027224 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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