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Current State of Biomarkers in Bipolar Disorder

  • Bipolar Disorders (W Coryell, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic psychiatric illness of which the etiology remains unknown. Extensive research has provided some hypotheses for the pathophysiology of this disorder; however, there are no molecular tests available to help support the diagnosis obtained by self-report and behavioral observations. A major requirement is to identify potential biomarkers that could be used for early diagnosis in patients susceptible to the disease and for its treatment. The most recently published findings regarding alterations in BD were found to be related to oxidative stress, inflammatory and trophic factor deregulation, and also polymorphisms of genes that are associated with the development of BD. Many of these targets are potential biomarkers which could help to identify the BD subgroups and to advance treatment strategies, which would beneficiate the quality of life of these patients. Therefore, the main objective of this review is to examine the recent findings and critically evaluate their potential as biomarkers for BD.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the CAMH Foundation and Canadian Institutes of Health Research as sources of funding in support of this report.

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Conflict of Interest

Gustavo Scola and Ana Cristina Andreazza have received an operating grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada

    Gustavo Scola

  2. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R8, Canada

    Gustavo Scola & Ana Cristina Andreazza

  3. Department of Pharmacology and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada

    Ana Cristina Andreazza

  4. University of Toronto, Medical Science Building, Room 4204, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada

    Ana Cristina Andreazza

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  1. Gustavo Scola
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Correspondence to Ana Cristina Andreazza.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Bipolar Disorders

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Scola, G., Andreazza, A.C. Current State of Biomarkers in Bipolar Disorder. Curr Psychiatry Rep 16, 514 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-014-0514-4

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