0000000000223970
AUTHOR
Clara Locatelli
Lithium and GSK3-β promoter gene variants influence white matter microstructure in bipolar disorder
Lithium is the mainstay for the treatment of bipolar disorder (BD) and inhibits glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta (GSK3-beta). The less active GSK3-beta promoter gene variants have been associated with less detrimental clinical features of BD. GSK3-beta gene variants and lithium can influence brain gray matter structure in psychiatric conditions. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures of white matter (WM) integrity showed widespred disruption of WM structure in BD. In a sample of 70 patients affected by a major depressive episode in course of BD, we investigated the effect of ongoing long-term lithium treatment and GSK3-beta promoter rs334558 polymorphism on WM microstructure, using DTI and …
Opposite effects of suicidality and lithium on gray matter volumes in bipolar depression
Background: Mood disorders are associated with the highest increase of attempted and completed suicide. Suicidality in major depressive disorder and in schizophrenia has been associated with reduced gray matter volumes in orbitofrontal cortex. Lithium reduces the suicide risk of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) to the same levels of the general population, and can increase GM volumes. We studied the effect of a positive history of attempted suicide and ongoing lithium treatment on regional GM volumes of patients affected by bipolar depression. Methods: With a correlational design, we studied 57 currently depressed inpatients with bipolar disorder: 19 with and 38 without a positive histor…
Temporal lobe grey matter volume in schizophrenia is associated with a genetic polymorphism influencing glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta activity
At the crossroad of multiple pathways regulating trophism and metabolism, glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)3 is considered a key factor in influencing the susceptibility of neurons to harmful stimuli (neuronal resilience) and is a target for several psychiatric drugs that directly inhibit it or increase its inhibitory phosphorylation. Inhibition of GSK3 prevents apoptosis and could protect against the neuropathological processes associated with psychiatric disorders. A GSK3-beta promoter single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs334558) influences transcriptional strength, and the less active form was associated with less detrimental clinical features of mood disorders. Here we studied the effect of r…