Context
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex mental disorder that is described by the DSM-V as a prevalent and debilitating mental health condition. According to the World Health Organization, MDD affects an estimated 280 million people, making it one of the most common mental health disorders. Changes in appetite can be found in addition to mood disturbances for diagnostic criteria of MDD which show the interesting connection between mood and appetite in depression.
Moreover, even if fasting periods such as intermittent fasting have shown a positive effect on mental well-being in healthy people and promising results for MDD patients, it’s still not well clear how short-term fasting allows to regulate mood.
Ghrelin, a neuropeptide synthetized by the stomach during periods of starvation, is linked to an antidepressant-like effect via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in rodents model. For humans the results are mixed.
In this Application Note, the research group of Ms. Rauda Fahed explored the connection between subjective hunger ratings for MDD and healthy control participants (HCP) in order to gain better understanding of ghrelin effects on mood in individuals with MDD.
