Wen-Jang Chu1,2, Mathew Norris3,
Renu Kotwal, Caleb M. Adler, Mi-Jung Kim, Rachel Whitsel, Jing-Huei Lee,
23, Melissa P. DelBello, Stephen M. Strakowski, 2
1Psychiatry, Univ. of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, OH, United States; 2Center for Imaging Research, Univ.
of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; 3Biomedical
Engineering, Univ. of Cincinnati
Glutamate
(Glu) has been found play an important role in Bipolar Disorder (BD). The
accurate measurement of Glu has been hurdled by the large signals overlapping
and broadening baseline. Instead of reporting Glu levels, the Glx (sum of
glutamate, glutamine and GABA) has been widely used in glutamatergic
neurotransmission research. In this work, we studied Glu levels using short
echo PRESS spectroscopy, and TE-averaged spectroscopy in medication-free,
lithium-treated BD patients and healthy volunteers. The results have allowed
us to evaluate the Glu level differences between the two groups, and the
effect of lithium treatment on Glu levels.