Quantitative proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the bilateral frontal lobes in patients with bipolar disorder

Abstract

We found a state-dependent change of creatine metabolism in the left frontal lobe of bipolar patients. The present results are compatible with our previous report of decreased phosphocreatine measured by 31P-MRS in the left frontal lobe in bipolar disorder. We also found an effect of gender on the creatine concentration. There may be a gender difference in creatine transport function into the brain.

A 1HMRS study of the anterior cingulate gyrus in euthymic bipolar patients

“…A strength of our study is that we included only patients who were euthymic for at least 4 weeks, in order to study a homogeneous population and to prevent mood-related alterations of the molecules studied, since Hamakawa et al (1999) observed that depressed bipolar patients had significantly lower Cr levels in the right frontal lobe than that in the euthymic state. However, there is no previous study about differences in Cr levels between euthymic bipolar patients and healthy controls.…”

Mitochondrial involvement in psychiatric disorders

“…Decreased intracellular pH and intracellular phosphocreatine in the frontal lobes as well as an altered response of phosphocreatine response to photic stimulation have been observed in patients with BPD (50,51). Also, mRNA of two isoforms of creatine kinase, the enzyme that is involved in synthesis and metabolism of phosphocreatine, has been shown to be downregulated in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in subjects with BPD, although significant downregulation of these isoforms was not seen between subjects with SZ and controls (52).…”

Mitochondrial dysfunction in bipolar disorder: evidence from magnetic resonance spectroscopy research

“…Since there is evidence that lithium administration may increase NAA levels in bipolar subjects, 24 it is possible that the results of these three studies were confounded by the history of lithium treatment in their subject populations. Additionally, a further seven of the subjects in the study by Hamakawa et al 29 were receiving other pharmacological treatments; only three bipolar subjects were effectively medication free. Consequently, it is also possible that the unaltered NAA levels observed in these studies were due to the normalizing effects of these unidentified treatments.…”

“…Unaltered NAA levels in bipolar subjects have been observed by Ohara et al 28 in the lenticular nuclei, by Hamakawa et al 29 in the frontal lobes, and by Castillo et al 30 in bipolar children (Table 1). However, seven of the 10 bipolar subjects studied by Ohara et al 28 and 13 of the 23 studied by Hamakawa et al 29 were undergoing lithium treatment, while the children studied by Castillo et al 30 were only given a 1 week medication washout period. Since there is evidence that lithium administration may increase NAA levels in bipolar subjects, 24 it is possible that the results of these three studies were confounded by the history of lithium treatment in their subject populations.…”