Peripheral biomarkers and illness activity in bipolar disorder

• Published in: Journal of psychiatric research Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 156 - 161
• Main Authors: Kapczinski, Flávio, Dal-Pizzol, Felipe, Teixeira, Antonio Lucio, Magalhaes, Pedro V.S., Kauer-Sant’Anna, Márcia, Klamt, Fábio, Moreira, José Claudio F., Augusto de Bittencourt Pasquali, Mateus, Fries, Gabriel Rodrigo, Quevedo, João, Gama, Clarissa Severino, Post, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Allostatic load; Biological and medical sciences; Biological markers; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - metabolism; Bipolar affective disorder; Bipolar disorder; Bipolar Disorder - metabolism; Bipolar Disorder - physiopathology; Bipolar disorders; Brain; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor - blood; Case-Control Studies; Cell death; Cytokines - blood; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods; Female; Humans; Illness activity; Illness Behavior; Indexing in process; Inflammation; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; Moods; Nervous system; Neurotrophin 3 - blood; Neurotrophins; Oxidative stress; Protein Carbonylation; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Sepsis; Statistics as Topic; Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances - metabolism; Oxidative stress; Biomarkers; Allostatic load; Bipolar disorder; Sepsis; Inflammation; Neurotrophins; Illness activity; Mood disorder; Neurotrophin; Biological marker; Allostasis; Infection; Sepsis syndrome
• ISSN: 0022-3956; 1879-1379; 1879-1379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.05.015

Recent evidence suggests that peripheral markers related to oxidative stress, inflammation and neurotrophins may be altered during mood episodes in bipolar disorder. These can be seen as proxies of peripheral toxicity or markers of illness activity. Here we report an en bloc assessment of a set of previously described biomarkers in different mood states ( n = 60) as well as in healthy subjects ( n = 80). To make the point that these are ominous changes, we obtained the same measures from a group of septic patients ( n = 15) as a “positive” control group. In this sample, we measured serum levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin 3, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 6, interleukin 10, total reactive antioxidant potential, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and protein carbonyl content. Several of the markers discriminated between the bipolar and control groups, especially when patients were in acute episodes. In some cases, toxicity was as high in bipolar disorder as that seen in patients with sepsis. We believe these findings highlight the potential of using biomarkers to assess illness activity in bipolar disorder.