CONCENTRATION AND MICROHETEROGENEITY GLYCOPHORMS OF ALPHA-1-ACID GLYCOPROTEIN IN MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Serum alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) concentration and its microheter ogeneity were measured in 46 patients with major depressive disorder a nd in 20 age- and sex-matched controls. The changes in major microhete rogeneity of AGP were expressed as reactivity coefficient (AGP-RC). Al so measured were the levels of C-reactive protein as well as leukocyte , neutrophil and monocyte counts. The results obtained showed that two thirds of the depressed patients studied, exhibited some immune distu rbances during acute episode: first with a high AGP and high AGP-RC, a nd secondly with a low AGP-RC. The patients with the highest AGP-RC an d higher AGP values had a longer duration of the illness and of the la st depressive episode, a higher resistance to previous treatments, and a higher monocyte count. The character of the changes in the microhet erogeneity of AGP bears some similarity to those observed in other dis eases with immunological disturbances.