Association between choroid plexus volume and cognitive function in older-age bipolar disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Radiology

Background:

• The choroid plexus (CP) is implicated in aging, cognition, and bipolar disorder (BD) pathogenesis.
• The specific relationship between CP and cognitive dysfunction in older-age bipolar disorder (OABD) remains uninvestigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of choroid plexus volume (CPV) and other brain volumetric measures in cognitive impairment in OABD patients.
• To explore the association between structural brain alterations and cognitive function in OABD.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 132 OABD patients and 130 healthy controls (HCs) from the UK Biobank.
• Examination of between-group differences in CP volume (CPV), gray matter volume (GMV), white matter volume (WMV), cerebrospinal fluid volume (CSV), and total brain volume (TBV).
• Correlation analysis and k-means clustering to identify cognitive phenotypes and associated volumetric changes.

Main Results:

• OABD patients exhibited significantly larger bilateral CPV and CSV, with reduced GMV and TBV compared to HCs.
• In OABD, cognitive function was negatively correlated with right CPV and CSV, and positively with GMV and TBV.
• Bilateral CPV enlargement was specifically associated with impaired reasoning, and poorer cognitive performance correlated with greater CPV.

Conclusions:

• CP abnormalities are prominent in OABD, with larger CPV linked to greater cognitive impairment.
• CP may represent a potential therapeutic target for mitigating cognitive decline and disease progression in BD.
• Structural brain abnormalities, including GMV, CSV, and TBV, are associated with cognitive performance in OABD.