
Neuroimaging Advances in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder
High levels of vitamin D-binding protein may hold promise for use as a diagnostic biomarker of pediatric BD.
RESEARCH UPDATE
High levels of vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) may be a significant characteristic of pediatric bipolar disorder (BD).1 Its early detection-in use as a biomarker-may help differentiate pediatric PD from other mood disorders-namely major depressive disorder (MDD)-and boost timely intervention according to a recent study.
The research team, affiliated with Ohio State University in Columbus, looked at factors related to neuroinflammation in a small subset (N = 36) of subjects, mean age 14 years, who were participants in the
The investigators found that serum vitamin D concentrations were inversely associated with BMI across study groups and that the relationship was statistically significant (P <.006). Vitamin D concentrations also were inversely associated with markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. However, none of the major inflammatory factors or vitamin D parameters assessed was able to detect which subjects had pediatric BD or MDD and which did not. The investigators then performed immunoprecipitation based on the neuroinflammatory cytokine glia maturation factor beta (GMFβ), which led to the detection of the GMFβ homolog DBP.
In quantifying DBP via Western blot analysis, the
Finding on white matter and pediatric BD pharmacotherapy fixes
A report by the
These researchers found that fractional anisotropy (FA) in cingulum hippocampus (CGH) white matter was significantly lower at baseline in their pediatric BD study patients compared with healthy controls. FA increased in the left CGH after 4 weeks of lithium therapy. Further, patients who responded to pharmacotherapy demonstrated increased FA compared with nonresponders and also had improved scores on Clinical Global Impressions ratings in relation to depression and mania severity at Week 8.
References:
1. Petrov B, Aldoori A, James C, et al.
2. Goldstein BI, Birmaher B, Carlson GA, et al.
3. Kafantaris V, Spritzer L, Doshi V, et al.
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