BRAIN LITHIUM LEVELS IN BIPOLAR INDIVIDUALS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. This project will compare serum lithium levels to brain lithium levels in subjects with histories of bipolar illness on a stable dose of lithium compounds. Brain lithium levels will be measured using Lithium-7 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (7LiMRS). The principal aim of this study is to establish the utility of 7LiMRS in determining differences in brain-to-serum lithium ratios in Blacks of African descent compared to Whites of Western European descent. Since brain lithium may be a critical determinant of treatment response, measurement of brain lithium by 7LiMRS may ultimately be clinically important for guiding rational therapy with this agent. This research project is directed at improving mental health care for Blacks of African descent treated with lithium. Despite abundant empirical evidence that Na-Li countertransport is decreased in the erythrocytes of Blacks of African descent, established guidelines for lithium treatment do not consider the confounding variable of racial variability in erythrocyte Na-Li countertransport. This is an exciting study, as it will improve our ability to provide psychiatric care in a manner sensitive to racial/ethnic differences. This study was approved in 2001. We have been enrolling subjects for 4 years and are near the end of enrollment. It is anticipate that we will be analyzing data for the next two years. Four hundred potential subjects will be screened to identify 25 Black subjects of African descent and 25 White subjects of Western European descent who are euthymic and on stable doses of lithium preparations for the treatment of bipolar or schizoaffective illness.