Functional movement disorders (FMD) are characterized by the presence of neurological symptoms that cannot be explained by typical neurological diseases or other medical conditions. First evidence showed that, compared to healthy controls (CTR), FMD patients presented increased levels of glutamate+glutamine in the anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex, and decreased levels of glutamate in the cerebrospinal fluid, suggesting that a glutamatergic dysfunction might play a role in FMD pathophysiology. In this study, 12 FMD patients and 20 CTR were recruited and underwent venous blood sampling and urine collection: levels of glutamate, BDNF, dopamine, oxidative stress, creatinine, neopterin, and uric acid were analyzed. Participants also underwent a psychometric assessment investigating depression, anxiety, and alexithymia. We found that levels of glutamate, BDNF, and dopamine were significantly lower in the blood of FMD patients than CTR. Glutamate and dopamine levels were positively associated with levels of alexithymia. Our findings give further evidence that glutamatergic dysfunction might be involved in the pathophysiology of FMD, possibly representing a biomarker of disease; moreover, since glutamatergic and dopaminergic systems are closely interconnected, our results might have a relevance in terms of treatment options for FMD patients.
Demartini, B., Nistico', V., Benayoun, C., Cigognini, A., Ferrucci, R., Vezzoli, A., et al. (2023). Glutamatergic dysfunction, neuroplasticity, and redox status in the peripheral blood of patients with motor conversion disorders (functional movement disorders): a first step towards potential biomarkers discovery. TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY, 13(1) [10.1038/s41398-023-02500-8].
Glutamatergic dysfunction, neuroplasticity, and redox status in the peripheral blood of patients with motor conversion disorders (functional movement disorders): a first step towards potential biomarkers discovery
Nistico' V.
Co-primo
;
2023
Abstract
Functional movement disorders (FMD) are characterized by the presence of neurological symptoms that cannot be explained by typical neurological diseases or other medical conditions. First evidence showed that, compared to healthy controls (CTR), FMD patients presented increased levels of glutamate+glutamine in the anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex, and decreased levels of glutamate in the cerebrospinal fluid, suggesting that a glutamatergic dysfunction might play a role in FMD pathophysiology. In this study, 12 FMD patients and 20 CTR were recruited and underwent venous blood sampling and urine collection: levels of glutamate, BDNF, dopamine, oxidative stress, creatinine, neopterin, and uric acid were analyzed. Participants also underwent a psychometric assessment investigating depression, anxiety, and alexithymia. We found that levels of glutamate, BDNF, and dopamine were significantly lower in the blood of FMD patients than CTR. Glutamate and dopamine levels were positively associated with levels of alexithymia. Our findings give further evidence that glutamatergic dysfunction might be involved in the pathophysiology of FMD, possibly representing a biomarker of disease; moreover, since glutamatergic and dopaminergic systems are closely interconnected, our results might have a relevance in terms of treatment options for FMD patients.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
Demartini-2023-Transl Psych-VoR.pdf
accesso aperto
Tipologia di allegato:
Publisher’s Version (Version of Record, VoR)
Licenza:
Creative Commons
Dimensione
464.27 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
464.27 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.