Brain Abnormalitites Associated With Bipolar Disorder

[My_Sojourn]

Have you all seen this? I'm new so I'm not sure if I end up repeating what was said before. I thought this was very interesting. This explains why my brain is so funky...

Learning more about the bipolar brain is so important. They say drug companies are now developing meds that will address causes of biolar & schizophrenia, not just the sympoms within the next 10 years or so. It seems this report says bipolar has to do with mitochondrial DNA...?


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Brain Abnormalitites Associated With Bipolar Disorder


31% more signal sending cells in the Thalamus (involved in regulatory functioning of the brain)

28% more cells in the Ventral Brain System (responsible for sending out the signaling cells)

Reduced amounts of the amino acid N-acetylaspartate (NAA) in the hippocampus (indicating damage or dysfunction in emotion regulation and memory) Reduced NAA is also seen in Parkinsons, Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis

Reduction in size of the Frontal Cortex (responsible for concentration, planning, judgement, emotional expression, creativity and inhibition)

Reduction in size of the Hippocampus (responsible for processing and distributing information)

Reduction in volume and excessive activity of the Amygdala (responsible for interpreting facial expressions and adapting responses to emotionally relevant stimuli)

Reduction in size of the Caudate Nucleus (responsible for regulating and organizing information) Reduced size of the Caudate Nucleus is also present in ADHD

Nearly 40% reduction in the gray matter of the left Pre-Frontal Cortex

Cell shrinkage and reduced cellular connections in the brain

Abnormalities in the chemical pathways of serotonin, noradrenaline, norepinephrine, and dopamine

Intracellular signaling abnormalities

Elevated Cortisol levels (hormone produced from the adrenal cortex and released during stressed or agitated states)

Widespread dysregulation of mitochondrial energy metabolism (converts energy into forms that are usable by the cell) and downstream deficits of adenosine triphosphate-dependent processes


Information taken from:
The American Medical Association, Dept of Psychiatry, Vol 60 (12) 2003
The American Journal of Psychiatry, October 2000
The Bipolar Child by Demitri Papolos MD
Interview with Husseini, Manji M.D., Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular
Pathophysiology at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Gen Psychiatry. 2004 Mar;61(3):300-8. Dept of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass
Copyright 2002 Tracy Anglada (permission to print from this website and distribute is granted)

 

[goldenviolet]

interresting info. some i heard, others not. glad you posted

 

[meh]

One would hope that info could clear up the whole, "you don't have a real illness" debate

My new doctor has started treating bipolar in some people with seizure medications. I once told him my moods are like someone flipped a light-switch in my head for no reason and suddenly..boom..new mood.

I take Trileptal, which was developed as a seizure medication. So far (knock wood) it has been amazing in keeping my moods even.

And welcome to CF My_Sojourn! I've found it to be a wonderful place.

 

[meh]

Sorry sorry sorry...after thinking about it I don't think I was clear. I meant hopefully people will begin to look at this info and not try to tell us, all of us, that this disease isn't real.

 

[Alive again]

Yes, many anti-seizure meds are excellent mood stabilizers, interesting huh?

 

[My_Sojourn]

Yes, it does make more sense that anti-seizure meds would help all this misfirings, as I see it anyway.

My bipolar friend read this and figured this is saying that there are apparent "deficits" in one area that are compensated for by other anomalies: more signaling and faster, due to reduced size/fewer cells, higher cortisol level compensating for ATP deficit... She has a very good understanding of the biochemical aspect of the brain and emailed me this explanation, but I am still trying to learn.

I have heard there is a "kindling effect" with bipolar disorder. I don't know if it's true, it's just a theory. It says that the longer bipolar goes untreated, a person can get worse with more rapid cycling and harder to treat because :

Demitri and Janice Papolos, in their excellent book The Bipolar Child, describe this model as follows:

"... initial periods of cycling may begin with an environmental stressor, but if the cycles continue or occur unchecked, the brain becomes kindled or sensitized - pathways inside the central nervous system are reinforced so to speak - and future episodes of depression, hypomania, or mania will occur by themselves (independently of an outside stimulus), with greater and greater frequency."

I couldn't post the link. I hate to quote something from another web site without giving the sourse. But you can do a google search on "kindling effect bipolar"

We can control this but we need our meds.

 

[wonderwaleye]

Dear My_Sojourn

Please post this on Beshaw's post of " DOWN DAY/VENT "


She is having a real hard go of it and REALLY needs to see and understand your very good post.


The doctor told me the very same thing about the increase in frequency.



AT TIMES EVERYONE NEEDS HELP TO REMEMBER:




XEven though you can't see Him, GOD is there!O
( click on the X and move to the O ) ( then feel who is around you )

 

[Alive again]

Dear My_Sojourn

Please post this on Beshaw's post of " DOWN DAY/VENT "


She is having a real hard go of it and REALLY needs to see and understand your very good post.


The doctor told me the very same thing about the increase in frequency.



AT TIMES EVERYONE NEEDS HELP TO REMEMBER:




XEven though you can't see Him, GOD is there!O
( click on the X and move to the O ) ( then feel who is around you )

Also look at the article lemon flavor suggested in his thread, it is excellent!!!