Copyright © 1999 by Institute of Pharmacology
Polish Academy of Sciences 		Pol. J. Pharmacol., 1999, 51, 535-538
ISSN 1230-6002
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PRELIMINARY COMMUNICATION
 IS SERUM COPPER A „TRAIT MARKER” OF UNIPOLAR DEPRESSION? A PRELIMINARY CLINICAL STUDY
 Małgorzata Schlegel-Zawadzka1#, Andrzej Zięba2, Dominika Dudek2, Joanna Żak-Knapik3, Gabriel Nowak3,4
 1 Department of Food Chemistry and Nutrition, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688 Kraków, Poland;
2 Department of Psychiatry, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kopernika 21b, PL 31-501 Kraków, Poland;
3 Laboratory of Radioligand Research, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688 Kraków, Poland;
4 Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Smętna 12, PL 31-343 Kraków, Poland

Is serum copper a „trait marker” of unipolar depression? A preliminary clinical study. M. SCHLEGEL-ZAWADZKA, A. ZIĘBA, D. DUDEK, J. ŹAK-KNAPIK, G. NOWAK. Pol. J. Pharmacol., 1999, 51, 535-538.

Depression is not a homogenous illness and is diagnosed in only one in three persons suffering from this disorder. Besides psychological-psychiatric diagnostic methods (e.g. Hamilton’s, Beck’s rating scales), some biochemical measures have been introduced as markers of depression. However, the sensitivity of even the best characterized dexamethasone supression test is as low as 40–50%. A search for better markers is continuously in progress.
In the present study, we investigated alterations in serum copper concentrations in depressive patients before, during and after antidepressant treatment and compared these values with the concentrations in healthy volunteers. The serum copper concentration in depression is significantly higher (by 21%) than in the control. However, effective antidepressant treatments (which reduced symptoms by ca. 50% measured by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) did not affect (did not normalize) this increased copper concentration. The present data indicate that serum copper is a „trait marker” (remains constant regardless of successful treatment) of unipolar depression.

Key words: human depression, antidepressant treatment, serum copper
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