Are Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Implicated in Histaminergic Dysregulation in Bipolar Disorder?: AN HYPOTHESIS
Date
2018
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Article
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Abstract
Bipolar disorder (BD) is an extremely disabling psychiatric disease, characterized by
alternate states of mania (or hypomania) and depression with euthymic states in
between. Currently, patients receive pharmacological treatment with mood stabilizers,
antipsychotics, and antidepressants. Unfortunately, not all patients respond well to this
type of treatment. Bipolar patients are also more prone to heart and metabolic diseases
as well as a higher risk of suicide compared to the healthy population. For a correct
brain function is indispensable a right protein and lipids (e.g., fatty acids) balance.
In particular, the amount of fatty acids in the brain corresponds to a 50–70% of the
dry weight. It has been reported that in specific brain regions of BD patients there is a
reduction in the content of unsaturated n-3 fatty acids. Accordingly, a diet rich in n-3
fatty acids has beneficial effects in BD patients, while their absence or high levels of
saturated fatty acids in the diet are correlated to the risk of developing the disease.
On the other hand, the histamine system is likely to be involved in the pathophysiology
of several psychiatric diseases such as BD. Histamine is a neuromodulator involved
in arousal, motivation, and energy balance; drugs acting on the histamine receptor
H3 have shown potential as antidepressants and antipsychotics. The histaminergic
system as other neurotransmission systems can be altered by fatty acid membrane
composition. The purpose of this review is to explore how polyunsaturated fatty acids
content alterations are related to the histaminergic system modulation and their impact
in BD pathophysiology.
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Citation
Frontiers in Physiology, 2018, 9:693
Keywords
BAS, Bipolar disorder, Fatty acids, Histaminergic system, Omega-3, PUFAs