Objective: Recent studies have shown that major depressive disorders (MDD) have important effects on nesfatin-1, nitric oxide (NO) and ghrelin hormones. To understand the possible roles of nesfatin-1, NO and ghrelin on effectiveness of MDD treatment, the effects of short-term antidepressant venlafaxine treatment on these parameters in patients with MDD were evaluated.

Material and Methods: Sixty subjects (20 MDD patients and 40 healthy controls) enrolled in the study. Venlafaxine (225 mg/day for 3 months) was given to patients. Fasting blood samples were taken at onset of the study and at the end of the 3 months. Biochemical parameters, serum ghrelin, nesfatin-1 and NO were analysed.

Results: After 3 months treatment, the patients prognosis, evaluated by the HAM-D scale, improved from 36.6±1 to 15.9±0.6 (P=0.04). Nesfatin-1 (p=0.001) and ghrelin (P=0.001) levels decreased and NO levels increased significantly (P=0.04) after treatment in MDD patients.

Conclusions: Decreased nesfatin-1, and increased NO levels comparing to their normal levels after venlafaxine application could be an important criteria to evaluate patients' response to treatment and also prognosis in addition to the improvement of HAM-D scales.