Brain glutamatergic characteristics of pediatric offspring of parents with bipolar disorder.
We wished to determine whether decreases in prefrontal glutamate concentrations occur in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder with and at high risk for mania. Sixty children and adolescents, 9-18 years old, of parents with bipolar I or II disorder (20 offspring with established history of mania, "BD", 20 offspring with symptoms subsyndromal to mania, "SS", and 20 healthy controls "HC") were examined using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3T to study glutamatergic metabolite concentrations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). A signal for reductions in absolute glutamate concentrations in the ACC was seen in the BD compared with HC and SS groups. No other statistically significant differences among groups were found. Offspring of parents with BD with prior histories of mania may have disruptions in glutamatergic function compared with HC or children at risk for BD who have not yet developed mania. Longitudinal studies are necessary to confirm whether prefrontal glutamate decreases only after the onset of full mania.
Singh
Manpreet
M
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. mksingh@stanford.edu
Spielman
Daniel
D
Adleman
Nancy
N
Alegria
Dylan
D
Howe
Meghan
M
Reiss
Allan
A
Chang
Kiki
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics; D011522:Protons; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
D011522:Protons; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate