Decreased acylated and total ghrelin levels in bipolar disorder patients recovering from a manic episode

• Published in: BMC psychiatry Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 209 - 8
• Main Authors: Abdel Aziz, Karim, Al-Mugaddam, Fadwa, Sugathan, Subi, Saseedharan, Prashanth, Jouini, Tarek, Elamin, Mohamed Elhassan, Moselhy, Hamdy, Aly El-Gabry, Dina, Arnone, Danilo, Karam, Sherif M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 21.03.2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Acylated ghrelin; Affective disorders; Antibodies; Antipsychotic drugs; Antipsychotics; Bipolar disorder; Body mass index; Body weight gain; Care and treatment; Des-acylated ghrelin; Diagnosis; Dosage and administration; Drug therapy; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Euthymia; Food; Ghrelin; Health aspects; Hunger; Mania; Measurement; Mental disorders; Metabolism; Patients; Peptides; Psychiatry; Psychosis; Risk factors; Total ghrelin; United Kingdom; United States > US; Des-acylated ghrelin; Mania; Bipolar disorder; Total ghrelin; Acylated ghrelin; Euthymia
• ISSN: 1471-244X; 1471-244X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12888-022-03842-1

To date, only few studies have investigated ghrelin levels in bipolar disorders, and all have exclusively measured acylated ghrelin, with none investigating total ghrelin (acylated and des-acylated). We aimed to investigate peripheral levels of acylated and total ghrelin in subjects experiencing a manic episode of bipolar disorder. Peripheral levels of acylated and total ghrelin were measured in hospitalised medicated individuals recovering from a manic episode. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to measure ghrelin levels in patients and compared with healthy controls. The relationship between ghrelin levels in bipolar disorder, self-reported hunger measures, demographic and clinical parameters was investigated with correlational analyses. Twenty-four subjects (15 males, 9 females) recovering from mania and 27 matched healthy controls (13 males, 14 females) were recruited for the study. Mean values of both acylated (187 vs.520 pg/mL) and total ghrelin (396 vs. 648 pg/mL) were significantly reduced in bipolar disorder (p = 0.001). Ghrelin levels correlated positively with markers of illness severity and negatively with prescribed mood stabilizers, second-generation antipsychotics, weight and body mass index. Peripheral measurements of acylated and total ghrelin were both reduced in bipolar disorder patients compared to healthy controls. Whilst illness severity promotes higher ghrelin levels, pharmacological treatment and weight gain exercise the opposite effect.