Chun S. Zuo1,
Brent Forester1, Fei Du1, Perry F. Renshaw2
1McLean
Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States; 2The Brain Institute, Dept.
of Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
To address possible altered energy metabolism in bipolar disorder (BPD), this study evaluated the effects of an 8-week trial of oral CoEnzyme Q10 for ten individuals with BPD stable on concurrent psychiatric medication using 31P MRS at 4T and weekly clinical mood assessment. CoQ10 treatment was associated with a statistically significant improvement in mood at week 2 and week 4 of treatment. The 31P MRS scan at week 8 found that CoQ10 resulted in an uptrend of creatine kinase activity, measured by kfor, and an increase in the PME/PDE ratio, suggesting alterations in membrane metabolites in bipolar patients.