Abnormal fatty acid pattern in the superior temporal gyrus distinguishes bipolar disorder from major depression and schizophrenia and resembles multiple sclerosis.
This study investigated the fatty acid composition of the postmortem superior temporal gyrus (STG), a cortical region implicated in emotional processing, from normal controls (n=15) and patients with bipolar disorder (BD, n=15), major depressive disorder (MDD, n=15), and schizophrenia (SZ, n=15). For comparative purposes, STG fatty acid composition was determined in a separate cohort of multiple sclerosis patients (MS, n=15) and normal controls (n=15). Compared with controls, patients with BD, but not MDD or SZ, exhibited abnormal elevations in the saturated fatty acids (SFA) palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) linoleic acid (18:2n-6), arachidonic acid (20:4n-6), and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3), and reductions in the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) oleic acid (18:1n-9). The total MUFA/SFA and 18:1/18:0 ratios were lower in the STG of BD patients and were inversely correlated with total PUFA composition. MS patients exhibited a pattern of fatty acid abnormalities similar to that observed in BD patients including elevated PUFA and a lower 18:1/18:0 ratio. Collectively, these data demonstrate that BD patients exhibit a pattern of fatty acid abnormalities in the STG that is not observed in MDD and SZ patients and closely resembles MS patients.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA. Electronic address: robert.mcnamara@uc.edu.
Robert K
RK
McNamara
Department of Pathology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45237, USA.
Therese
T
Rider
Department of Pathology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45237, USA.
Ronald
R
Jandacek
Department of Pathology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45237, USA.
Patrick
P
Tso
D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D005227:Fatty Acids; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated
Bipolar disorder; Lithium; Major depressive disorder; Multiple sclerosis; Schizophrenia; Valproic acid