Project Summary

Rif S. El-Mallakh, M.D. (Independent Investigator 2000) of University of Louisville, will examine whether patients with bipolar disorder have an abnormality in a chemical called digoxin-like factor (DLF). This chemical, which resembles a medication called digoxin, appears to be decreased in the brains of subjects with mania. In the present study, it is hypothesized that patients with bipolar disorder may not make this hormone correctly when they are under stress, and that it could play a role in the development of mania. Dr. El-Mallakh will quantify DLF in bipolar patients before and after exercise, which normally increases levels of DLF. It is anticipated that healthy controls will show the expected increase, but bipolar subjects will not. If group differences are found, a larger, more extensive study will be conducted to establish whether this DLF abnormality is a characteristic of bipolar disorder.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Bipolar

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