Reduced cerebrovascular reactivity among adolescents with bipolar disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cardiology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is prevalent and occurs prematurely in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD).
• Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) assesses cerebral blood vessel health but remains unexamined in BD.
• Understanding cerebrovascular health in BD is crucial for early intervention and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) in adolescents diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD).
• To compare CVR between adolescents with BD and healthy controls (HCs).
• To explore potential correlations between CVR and clinical factors, including mood symptoms and BMI.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure CVR in 25 adolescents with BD and 25 HCs.
• CVR was assessed using blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal changes during breath-hold challenges.
• Voxel-wise analyses identified regional differences in CVR, with adjustments for body mass index (BMI).

Main Results:

• Adolescents with BD showed significantly lower CVR in the posterior cingulate gyrus and periventricular white matter compared to HCs.
• After controlling for BMI, further CVR deficits in BD were observed in the temporal poles, supramarginal gyrus, and lingual gyrus.
• No brain regions exhibited significantly higher CVR in the BD group, and CVR was not associated with mood symptom severity.

Conclusions:

• This study provides preliminary evidence of cerebrovascular dysfunction in adolescents with BD.
• The findings suggest that specific brain regions susceptible to cerebrovascular disease are impacted in early-onset BD.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the causes and consequences of cerebrovascular dysfunction in BD.