title: Glial pathology in bipolar disorder: potential therapeutic implications.
abstract: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic and severe mental disorder with recurrent episodes of mania and depression. In addition to neuronal alterations, accumulating evidences have revealed the importance of glial system in pathophysiology and phenotype of the illness. Postmortem studies have repeatedly demonstrated the alterations in glial cells and its functions in patients with BD. The activated microglia and inflammatory cytokines are proposed to be the potential biomarkers that may help to predict disease exacerbation in BD. On the other hand, anti-BD drugs have been shown to produce profound effects on glial activity, which not only contributes to the therapeutic efficacy, but may also provide a potential target for the drug development of BD. We will focus on the recent development of glial abnormalities and potential therapeutic benefits targeted to glial modulation in BD.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Translational Research for Neuropsycho-Diseases, Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China; Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Xue-Chu
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Zhen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Antibipolar drugs; Bipolar disorder; Glial cells