title: Protein kinase A activity in platelets from patients with bipolar disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abnormal levels of protein kinase A (PKA) were found in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Since altered levels are generally accompanied by functional modifications, the purpose of this study was to investigate PKA activity in patients with BD.
  
  
  METHODS
  PKA activity was assessed in platelets from 20 drug-free bipolar patients and 19 controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cAMP-stimulated PKA activity was significantly increased in bipolar patients compared with controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study made use of platelets, which may not fully represent changes occurring in specific brain regions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study adds to the growing evidence suggesting that abnormalities of PKA are associated with BD.
authors.affiliation: Center of Neuropharmacology, Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy. daniela_tardito@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tardito
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Racagni
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smeraldi
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zanardi
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000201:enzymology; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000242:Cyclic AMP; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases