Frontiers in Psychiatry (Feb 2021)
Elevated Brain Glutamate Levels in Bipolar Disorder and Pyruvate Carboxylase-Mediated Anaplerosis
Abstract
In vivo1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies have found elevated brain glutamate or glutamate + glutamine levels in bipolar disorder with surprisingly high reproducibility. We propose that the elevated glutamate levels in bipolar disorder can be explained by increased pyruvate carboxylase-mediated anaplerosis in brain. Multiple independent lines of evidence supporting increased pyruvate carboxylase-mediated anaplerosis as a common mechanism underlying glutamatergic hyperactivity in bipolar disorder and the positive association between bipolar disorder and obesity are also described.
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