Senaratne Rhandi, Milne Andrea M, MacQueen Glenda M, Hall Geoffrey B C
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, F130-301 James Street South, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8P 3B6.
Psychiatry Res. 2009 Jun 30;172(3):205-9. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.07.007. Epub 2009 Apr 21.
The neuronal mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD) have not been fully characterized. The aim of this study was to compare metabolite levels in the hippocampus and the orbitofrontal cortex in a homogenous population of 12 euthymic patients with well-established BD and 12 age- and sex-matched healthy comparison subjects. Using a GE Signa, 3-Tesla scanner, we performed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) to examine levels of N-acetyl aspartate, glutamate and choline-containing compounds. Choline-containing compounds were significantly increased in the hippocampus and the orbitofrontal cortex in BD patients relative to control subjects. Significant elevations of glycerophosphocholine+phosphocholine (GPC+PCh) were measured in the hippocampus and the orbitofrontal cortex of patients. As choline is a marker of membrane phospholipid metabolism, the elevated choline in patients may indicate increased membrane breakdown in the brain regions examined. Abnormal neuronal loss within the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex further supports previous work suggesting that these regions are involved in the pathophysiology of BD.
双相情感障碍（BD）病理生理学背后的神经元机制尚未完全明确。本研究的目的是比较12名病情稳定的BD患者和12名年龄及性别匹配的健康对照者的海马体和眶额皮质中的代谢物水平。使用通用电气Signa 3特斯拉扫描仪，我们进行了质子磁共振波谱（H-MRS）检查，以检测N-乙酰天门冬氨酸、谷氨酸和含胆碱化合物的水平。与对照者相比，BD患者海马体和眶额皮质中的含胆碱化合物显著增加。在患者的海马体和眶额皮质中检测到甘油磷酸胆碱+磷酸胆碱（GPC+PCh）显著升高。由于胆碱是膜磷脂代谢的标志物，患者体内胆碱升高可能表明在所检查的脑区中膜分解增加。海马体和眶额皮质内异常的神经元丢失进一步支持了先前的研究工作，表明这些区域参与了BD的病理生理学过程。
