title: Reduced intracellular pH in the basal ganglia and whole brain measured by 31P-MRS in bipolar disorder.
abstract: The authors have previously reported that intracellular pH measured by phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) was decreased in the frontal lobes of patients with bipolar disorder. In the present study, phosphorus metabolism in the basal ganglia was examined in 13 patients with bipolar disorder and 10 matched controls by localized 31P-MRS. While no significant alteration of peak area ratios was found for all phosphorus metabolites, intracellular pH was significantly reduced in the basal ganglia in patients with bipolar disorder (7.014 +/- 0.045) compared with control subjects (7.066 +/- 0.047, P < 0.05). Unexpectedly, non-localized 31P-MR spectra also showed significantly lower levels of intracellular pH (6.970 +/- 0.025) than controls (6.986 +/- 0.024, P < 0.05). These results suggest that decreased intracellular pH in the brain of patients with bipolar disorder is not caused by dysfunction of the frontal lobes but reflect altered metabolism at the cellular level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Shiga University of Medical Science, Setagawa Hospital, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hamakawa
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murashita
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inubushi
authors.forename: Nobumasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Tadafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism*; D010759:Phosphorus Isotopes
chemical_list: D010759:Phosphorus Isotopes; D010758:Phosphorus