Neurometabolic Profiles of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescents with Bipolar Depression and Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study
Abstract
Abstract Background Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) frequently co-occur with bipolar disorder and may exacerbate depressive symptoms and worsen prognosis. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying OCS in adolescents with bipolar II disorder (BD-II) remain poorly understood. This study compared neurometabolic profiles of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) between BD-II adolescents with and without OCS, and examined their correlations with clinical features. Methods A total of 84 participants were included in this study, comprising 28 patients with a BD-II depressive episode accompanied by OCS (BD-II-OCS), 30 patients with a BD-II depressive episode without OCS (BD-II-non-OCS), and 26 healthy controls (HC). Clinical symptoms were assessed using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-24), the Young Manic Rating Scale (YMRS) and the Child Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS), while ¹H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) was used to measure the ratios of N-acetylaspartate/creatine (NAA/Cr), choline/creatine (Cho/Cr), inositol/creatine (mI/Cr) and glutamate + glutamine/creatine (Glx/Cr) in the vmPFC. Results Compared with the HC group, the NAA/Cr ratio was significantly lower in both BD-II groups, with the BD-II-OCS group showing a lower value than the BD-II-non-OCS group. The Glx/Cr ratio in the BD-II-OCS group was also significantly lower than that in the BD-II-non-OCS group and the HC group. Furthermore, patients in the BD-II-OCS…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 84 participants or records.
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