title: Neurochemical metabolites in the medial prefrontal cortex in bipolar disorder: A proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy metabolite values in the medial prefrontal cortex of individuals with euthymic bipolar disorder. The subjects consisted of 15 patients with euthymic bipolar disorder type I and 15 healthy controls. We performed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex and measured levels of N-acetyl aspartate, choline and creatine. Levels of these three metabolites in the medial prefrontal cortex were found to be lower in patients with bipolar disorder compared with healthy controls. A positive correlation was found between illness duration and choline levels in the right medial prefrontal cortex. Our study suggests that during the euthymic period, there are abnormalities in cellular energy and membrane phospholipid metabolism in the medial prefrontal cortex, and that this may impair neuronal activity and integrity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli 20100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ozdel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya 07050, Turkey.
authors.forename: Demet
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kalayci
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli 20100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gülfizar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sözeri-Varma
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli 20100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yilmaz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiroğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli 20100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tümkaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli 20100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tugçe
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toker-Uğurlu
keywords: N-asetyl aspartate; bipolar disorder; choline; creatine; degradation; illness duration; medial prefrontal cortex; mood disorder; neural regeneration; neurochemical metabolite; proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy