Elsevier

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 35, Issue 2, 15 January 1994, Pages 121-127
Biological Psychiatry

Original article
Reduced brain 5-HT and elevated NE turnover and metabolites in bipolar affective disorder

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Abstract

Levels of norepinephrine (NE), serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and their major metabolites were determined in postmortem brain obtained from nine subjects with antemortem histories meeting DSM-III-R criteria for bipolar affective disorder. Compared with controls, no statistically significant differences were found in mean levels of NE, 5-HT, or DA in any brain area of bipolar subjects. NE turnover as estimated by the ratio of the major NE metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MHPG) to NE was increased in frontal (+ 107%), temporal (+ 103%), and occipital (+ 64%) cortex and thalamus (+ 83%). Significant decreases were found in the major 5-HT metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), in frontal (− 54%) and parietal cortex (− 64%), and in 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio in temporal cortex (− 55%), with a trend for decreases in both measures in caudate nucleus. In addition, levels of the major DA metabolite, homovanillic acid (HVA) were significantly decreased (− 46%) in parietal cortex and HVA/DA ratios were significantly reduced (− 66%) in occipital cortex obtained from bipolar compared to control subjects. Our data, taken together with previous findings regarding monoamines in postmortem brain of depressed and suicide subjects, suggest that decreased 5-HT metabolite levels and turnover may be common to all mood disorders. Increased cortical NE turnover, however, may be a more important component in the pathophysiological of bipolar disorder.

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  • Cited by (0)

    This work was supported by grants from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (L.T.Y.), the Medical Research Council of Canada (L.T.Y) and J.J.W.) and the Stanley Foundation (J.J.W. and L.T.Y.). L.T.Y. and S.J.K. are Career Investigators of the Ontario Ministry of Health.

    ∗∗

    We acknowledge the Canadian Brain Tissue Bank (Toronto), the Montreal Brain Bank, the Boston Brain Bank, and the National Neurological Tissue Bank (Los Angeles) for providing the postmortem brain tissue. Thanks are due to C. Spegg for help with statistical analysis.

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