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Decreased leucocyte telomere length in male patients with chronic bipolar disorder: lack of effect of long-term lithium treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2021

Ewa Ferensztajn-Rochowiak Open the ORCID record for Ewa Ferensztajn-Rochowiak [Opens in a new window] ,
Ewa Kurczewska ,
Błażej Rubiś ,
Michalina Lulkiewicz ,
Hanna Hołysz ,
Filip Rybakowski  and
Janusz K. Rybakowski
Ewa Ferensztajn-Rochowiak*
Affiliation:
Department of Adult Psychiatry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Ewa Kurczewska
Affiliation:
Department of Adult Psychiatry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Błażej Rubiś
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Michalina Lulkiewicz
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Hanna Hołysz
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Filip Rybakowski
Affiliation:
Department of Adult Psychiatry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Janusz K. Rybakowski
Affiliation:
Department of Adult Psychiatry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
*
Author for correspondence: Ewa Ferensztajn-Rochowiak, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objectives:

Bipolar disorder (BD) may be connected with accelerated aging, the marker of this can be shorter telomere length (TL). Some data suggest that lithium may exert a protective effect against telomere shortening. The study aimed to compare the TL between patients with BD and control subjects. The effect of long-term lithium treatment was also assessed.

Methods:

The study group comprised 41 patients with BD, including 29 patients treated longitudinally with lithium (mean 16.5 years) and 20 healthy people. TL was assessed by the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Results:

In the control group, the TL was significantly longer in males than in females. Male bipolar patients had significantly shorter TL compared with the control male group. In bipolar patients, there was no correlation between TL and duration of treatment. The TL was negatively correlated with age in male bipolar patients.

Conclusions:

The study did not confirm the lithium effect on TL in bipolar patients. TL showed gender differences, being shorter in BD males, compared to control males, and longer in healthy males, compared to control females.

Keywords

telomere shorteningbipolar disorderlithiumleucocyte telomere lengthpolymerase chain reaction
Type
Original Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 33 , Issue 6 , December 2021 , pp. 299 - 306
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology

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