title: Alterations of cerebral glutamate in the euthymic state of patients with bipolar disorder.
abstract: The pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD) mostly remains unclear. However, some findings argue for a dysfunction in glutamatergic neurotransmission in BD. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3T was used to determine glutamate concentrations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the hippocampus (HC) of euthymic outpatients with BP-I disorder and age- and sex-matched healthy controls. In patients with BD, glutamate concentrations were significantly increased in the ACC and decreased in the HC compared with concentrations in controls. Significant group differences were also measured for N-acetyl aspartate and choline; no differences were found for other metabolites examined. An inverse correlation was observed for glutamate concentrations in the ACC and number of episodes. The findings of the study add to the concept of abnormalities in glutamatergic regulation in the ACC and HC in patients with BD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital, St. Hedwig Krankenhaus, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: andre.ehrlich@charite.de.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ehrlich
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestrasse 2-12, 10587 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.affiliation: Cluster Languages of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Corinna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pehrs
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gallinat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000378:metabolism*; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D002794:Choline
keywords: Anterior cingulate cortex; Bipolar disorder; Glutamate; Hippocampus; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)