title: Bipolar disorder, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism and brain morphology.
abstract: In this study of the effect of bipolar status and presence of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on differences in regional brain volumes, we hypothesized based on previous studies that 1) bipolar subjects will have smaller regional brain volumes than healthy controls; 2) BDNF Met66 allele carriers within the same population are likely to have smaller regional brain volumes as compared to Val66 homozygyotes. In our Caucasian sample of 166 bipolar subjects and 64 gender-matched healthy controls, we found significant decreases in total (p = 0.005) and regional gray matter volumes in bipolar patients compared to healthy controls, more pronounced in the inferior and posterior parts of the brain, together with a concomitant increase in total CSF (p = 0.012) particularly in the lateral ventricles (p = 0.023). However, there was no difference in white matter volumes noted by other studies. Furthermore we did not find significant differences in other brain regions that have been reported by other authors. Nor did we find a significant effect of BDNF on these measurements.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate School of Medicine, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Cheryl Ann
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Teh
authors.forename: Tih-Shih
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Margaratha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuchibhatla
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashley-Koch
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Macfall
authors.forename: Ranga
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor