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European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

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Open Access 01-12-2012 | Original Paper

Differences between unipolar and bipolar I depression in the quantitative analysis of glutamic acid decarboxylase-immunoreactive neuropil

Authors: Tomasz Gos, Johann Steiner, Hendrik Bielau, Henrik Dobrowolny, Karoline Günther, Christian Mawrin, Maciej Krzyżanowski, Roman Hauser, Ralf Brisch, Hans-Gert Bernstein, Zbigniew Jankowski, Katharina Braun, Bernhard Bogerts

Published in: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience | Issue 8/2012

Abstract

Alterations in GABAergic neurotransmission are assumed to play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) is the key enzyme in GABA synthesis. This study aimed to differentiate between unipolar and bipolar I depression using quantitative evaluation of GAD-immunoreactive (GAD-ir) neuropil in several brain regions known to be involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. Immunohistochemical staining of GAD 65/67 was performed in the orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the entorhinal cortex, the hippocampal formation and the medial dorsal and lateral dorsal (LD) thalamic nuclei, with a quantitative densitometric analysis of GAD-ir neuropil. The study was performed on paraffin-embedded brains from 9 unipolar and 12 bipolar I depressed patients (8 and 6 suicidal patients, respectively) and 18 matched controls. In unipolar patients, compared with controls, only the increased relative density of GAD-ir neuropil in the right LD was different from the previous results in depressed suicides from the same cohort (Gos et al. in J Affect Disord 113:45–55, 2009). On the other hand, the left DLPFC was the only area where a significant decrease was observed, specific for bipolar I depression. Significant differences between both diagnostic groups were found in these regions. By revealing abnormalities in the relative density of GAD-ir neuropil in brain structures, our study suggests a diathesis of the GABAergic system in mood disorders, which may differentiate the pathophysiology of unipolar from that of bipolar I depression.

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Title: Differences between unipolar and bipolar I depression in the quantitative analysis of glutamic acid decarboxylase-immunoreactive neuropil
Authors: Tomasz Gos
Johann Steiner
Hendrik Bielau
Henrik Dobrowolny
Karoline Günther
Christian Mawrin
Maciej Krzyżanowski
Roman Hauser
Ralf Brisch
Hans-Gert Bernstein
Zbigniew Jankowski
Katharina Braun
Bernhard Bogerts
Publication date: 01-12-2012
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience / Issue 8/2012
Print ISSN: 0940-1334
Electronic ISSN: 1433-8491
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-012-0315-x

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Differences between unipolar and bipolar I depression in the quantitative analysis of glutamic acid decarboxylase-immunoreactive neuropil

Abstract

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Abstract

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