Abstract
Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) has been associated with diverse abnormalities in neural plasticity and cellular resilience. Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5) support synaptic neuronal survival and differentiation. NT-3 and NT-4/5 levels were found to be altered in BD, potentially representing a physiological response against cellular stress. However, the use of psychopharmacological agents and heterogeneous mood states may constitute important biases in such studies. Thus, we aimed to assess NT-3 and NT-4/5 levels in medication-free BD type I or II individuals in a current depressive episode, before and after 6weeks of lithium monotherapy and matched with healthy controls. Methods: Twenty-three patients with BD type I or II during a depressive episode and 28 healthy controls were studied. Patients were required to have a 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score ≥ 18 and had not undergone any psychopharmacological treatment for at least 6. weeks prior to study entry. Patients were treated with lithium for 6. weeks and plasma NT-3 and NT-4/5 levels were determined at baseline and endpoint using ELISA method. Results: Baseline plasma levels of both NT-3 and NT-4/5 were significantly increased in acutely depressed BD subjects in comparison to healthy controls ( p= 0.040 and 0.039, respectively). The NT-3 and NT-4/5 levels did not significantly change after lithium treatment. NT-3 and NT-4/5 levels were positively correlated to illness duration in BD ( p= 0.032 and 0.034, respectively). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that NT-3 and NT-4/5 levels are increased in the depressive phase of BD, which seems directly associated with illness duration. The increased levels of NT-3 and NT-4/5 may underlie a biological response to cellular stress associated with the course of BD.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 243-246 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry |
Volume | 56 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Biomarkers
- Bipolar disorder
- Lithium
- Neurotrophic
- Treatment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology
- Biological Psychiatry