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Pharmacopsychiatry 2017; 50(02): 49-55
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-120120
Review
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

PPAR-γ Agonists for the Treatment of Major Depression: A Review

R. Colle   *
1   University Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
2   INSERM, UMRS 1178, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
3   Hôpital Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Sud, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
4   Département de Psychiatrie, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
,
D. de Larminat   *
1   University Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
2   INSERM, UMRS 1178, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
3   Hôpital Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Sud, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
4   Département de Psychiatrie, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
,
S. Rotenberg
1   University Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
2   INSERM, UMRS 1178, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
3   Hôpital Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Sud, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
4   Département de Psychiatrie, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
,
F. Hozer
1   University Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
2   INSERM, UMRS 1178, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
3   Hôpital Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Sud, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
4   Département de Psychiatrie, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
,
P. Hardy
1   University Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
2   INSERM, UMRS 1178, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
3   Hôpital Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Sud, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
4   Département de Psychiatrie, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
,
C. Verstuyft
1   University Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
3   Hôpital Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Sud, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
5   INSERM UMR_S1184, Centre IMVA
6   Service de Génétique moléculaire, Pharmacogénétique et Hormonologie
,
B. Fève   *
7   Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine, INSERM UMR_S938, Paris, France
8   Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire ICAN, Paris, France
9   Service d’Endocrinologie, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris, France
,
E. Corruble   *
1   University Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
2   INSERM, UMRS 1178, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
3   Hôpital Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Sud, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
4   Département de Psychiatrie, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received 08 September 2016
revised 26 September 2016

accepted 25 October 2016

Publication Date:
15 December 2016 (online)

Also available at
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Abstract

Introduction: Selective agonists of the nuclear transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ) are used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We reviewed their efficacy and safety for the treatment of major depression and the association of their potential antidepressant effects with changes in biomarkers of metabolism and inflammation.

Methods: From 8 studies, 4 open-label trials, and 4 randomized controlled trials (RCT) (3 vs. placebo and 1 vs. metformin), 448 patients with major depression were included, of which 209 patients received PPAR-γ agonists (pioglitazone or rosiglitazone) for 6–12 weeks, either alone or in add-on therapy to conventional treatments.

Results: PPAR-γ agonists have antidepressant effects in the 4 open-label studies and in 3 out of 4 RCT. No major adverse event was reported. Improvement in depression scores was associated with improvement in 3 biomarkers of insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment [HOMA-IR], oral glucose tolerance test, and fasting plasma glucose) and 1 biomarker of inflammation (interleukin-6) among 21 biomarkers studied.

Conclusion: PPAR-γ agonists may have antidepressant properties, which need to be assessed in further studies of major depressive episodes.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.


* These authors co-directed this work.


 

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