Minor hemoglobins HbA2 and HbF associate with disease severity in bipolar disorder with a likely protective role of HbA2 against post-partum episodes.

Background: There exist studies indicating that bipolar disorder (BD) associates with changes in brain blood flow. Human brain with its high demand to oxygen constitutes 2% of the total body weight, while it receives 20% of cardiac output. α and β globin chains of hemoglobin were recently found in neural tissues, yet no study has questioned blood hemoglobins in BD.