Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction and illness progression in bipolar disorder.

Background: Impaired stress resilience and a dysfunctional hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are suggested to play key roles in the pathophysiology of illness progression in bipolar disorder (BD), but the mechanisms leading to this dysfunction have never been elucidated. This study aimed to examine HPA axis activity and underlying molecular mechanisms in patients with BD and unaffected siblings of BD patients.

Methods: Twenty-four euthymic patients with BD, 18 siblings of BD patients, and 26 healthy controls were recruited for this study.

Early apoptosis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: The pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD) includes several systemic alterations, such as inflammatory markers, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. Most of these parameters may be related to dysfunctions in cellular resilience mechanisms reported in patients, such as endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial damage. As a consequence, these impairments can ultimately lead to cell death.