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Differential neurometabolite alterations in brains of medication‐free individuals with bipolar disorder and those with unipolar depression: a two‐dimensional proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study
Author(s) -
Li Hui,
Xu Haiyun,
Zhang Yinnan,
Guan Jitian,
Zhang Jie,
Xu Chongtao,
Shen Zhiwei,
Xiao Bo,
Liang Chunlian,
Chen Kaiyuan,
Zhang Jinling,
Wu Renhua
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
bipolar disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.285
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1399-5618
pISSN - 1398-5647
DOI - 10.1111/bdi.12445
Subject(s) - phosphocreatine , bipolar disorder , creatine , medicine , anterior cingulate cortex , depression (economics) , posterior cingulate , psychology , prefrontal cortex , endocrinology , cortex (anatomy) , neuroscience , lithium (medication) , cognition , economics , macroeconomics , energy metabolism
Objectives Bipolar disorder ( BD ) is a mental disorder characterized by periods of elevated mood and depression. Many individuals with BD are initially misdiagnosed and treated for unipolar depression ( UD ). In this study, we report direct comparisons between medication‐free individuals with BD and those with UD in terms of the neurometabolites in the anterior cingulate cortex ( ACC ), medial prefrontal cortex ( mPFC ), parietal cortex ( PC ), and posterior cingulate cortex ( PCC ) of the brain. Methods Participants included medication‐free patients with BD or UD , and matched healthy controls. All patients were in the depressive state and had similar symptoms. All subjects were subjected to a multi‐voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy procedure with a 3.0 T GE Signa MR scanner. After post‐processing, the absolute concentrations of glycerophosphocholine + phosphocholine ( GPC + PC ), phosphocreatine + creatine ( PC r + Cr), Glx (glutamate + glutamine), myo‐inositol ( MI ), and N ‐acetyl aspartate ( NAA ) from the above brain regions were compared across the three groups. Results Patients with BD showed significantly higher levels of Glx in their ACC , lower GPC + PC , PC r + Cr, MI , and NAA in their PC , and lower NAA in their mPFC , compared to healthy controls; patients with UD presented significantly lower levels of GPC + PC , PC r + Cr, and NAA in their PCC , and lower Glx in their mPFC . All analyzed brain metabolites, except Glx, were significantly lower in the PC of patients with BD , whereas levels of GPC + PC , PC r + Cr, and NAA were significantly reduced in the PCC of patients with UD . Conclusions These results add to the evidence of brain metabolite differences in brains of patients with UD and BD which may be of help in differentiating these two mood disorders.