de Carvalho Alves LP, et al. - This work was designed to assess if the more severe melancholic signs or symptoms were associated with decreases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in a sample of severely depressed inpatients. Researchers here for the first time associated BDNF levels with melancholic features among depressed inpatients. Findings revealed significantly reduced BDNF levels in the blood among severely depressed inpatients who presented the most severe melancholic feature, psychomotor retardation.