Abstract
This project was designed to compare differences in brain proton spectra between children and adolescents with bipolar disorder (BPD) and gender and age-matched normal controls, and to measure changes in myo-inositol levels following lithium therapy, utilizing in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS). A single voxel (2x2x2 cm3) was placed in brain anterior cingulate cortex for acquisition of the 1H spectra at baseline and after acute (∼7 days) lithium administration in 11 children (mean age 11.4 years) diagnosed with BPD, and in 11 normal controls. Acute lithium treatment was associated with a significant reduction in the myo-inositol/creatine ratio. This decrement was also significant in lithium-responders when analyzed separate from non-responders. Compared to normal controls, BPD subjects showed a trend towards a higher myo-inositol/creatine during the manic phase. These preliminary data provide evidence that a significant reduction in anterior cingulate myo-inositol magnetic resonance may occur after lithium treatment, especially among responders. Follow-up studies involving a larger sample may allow us to confirm whether changes in myo-inositol associated with acute lithium therapy persist in long-term clinical response of patients with and without lithium compliance.
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Acknowledgements
This project was funded by a National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award, 1998-99; and a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); K01 MH01601-01, Career Developmental Award to PD, and by a Stanley Foundation grant to JTM. We are grateful to Peter Whybrow, MD, Stephen Strakowski, MD, Perry Renshaw, MD, Gregory Moore, PhD, Jillian Kleiner, MD, Robert Kowatch, MD, and Xavier Castellanos, MD for their valuable comments about the project. We also thank Bhavik Shah, MD; Mark de Antonio, MD; and Dushon Blackburn-Ryan for their support with patient recruitment. Presented in part at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Las Croabas, Puerto Rico, December 14-18, 1998.
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Davanzo, P., Thomas, M., Yue, K. et al. Decreased Anterior Cingulate Myo-inositol/Creatine Spectroscopy Resonance with Lithium Treatment in Children with Bipolar Disorder. Neuropsychopharmacol 24, 359–369 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(00)00207-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(00)00207-4
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