Mounting Evidence of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Bipolar Disorder
mitochondrion
At the 2019 meeting of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, researchers Ana Andreazza, Olivia Dean and colleagues reviewed substantial data that implicate mitochondrial dysfunction in the mood and energy fluctuations that make up bipolar disorder. Most of the neurobiological alterations known to occur in bipolar disorder have a relationship to mitochondria, which produce energy within cells. These alterations include abnormalities in glutamate, gene expression, apoptosis (cell death), oxidative stress, low ATP (a molecule that stores energy), altered ion pumps, increased intracellular calcium, and insufficient glutathionine (an antioxidant made up of three amino acids).
Coenzyme Q10 is a mitochrondrial enhancer of Complex I, an enzyme that is key to the first step in mitochondrial energy production. A 2018 controlled study by Maryam Mehrpooya and colleagues published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology found that 200mg/day of CoQ10 was more effective than placebo at reducing symptoms of bipolar depression when added to patients’ stable treatment regimens that included mood stabilizers and antidepressants. The effect size was large (0.87), and it took eight weeks for the benefit over placebo to appear. Response rate to CoQ10 was 72% compared to 12% to placebo.
Editor’s Note: Some formulations of CoQ10 do not cross the blood-brain barrier easily, so only a very small percentage of the CoQ10 gets into the brain. Thus, consumers should be careful about the type of product they purchase. The one made by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company is likely to be effective.
