Background
Neurotropin-3 (NT-3), a marker of neural plasticity, is reported to be altered in bipolar disorder (BD). This study was designed to evaluate NT-3 gene polymorphism (rs 6489630, rs 6332, and rs 11063714) in BD and its association with disease severity and cognition.
Conclusion
Single nucleotide polymorphisms of NT-3 are associated with cognitive dysfunction in BD.
Methods
The study included 176 BD cases and 176 controls. All the participants were tested for NT-3 polymorphism and plasma NT-3. ACE-III scores were used to analyze cognition.
Results
The NT-3 polymorphism (rs 6489630) was associated with cognitive impairment in BD (P = .010). The attention score was found to be decreased in the CT genotype (P = .028) when compared to the CC and TT genotypes of the rs6489630 variant. The visuospatial ability score was decreased in the GG genotype (P = .044) compared to the AG genotype of the rs11063714 variant. BD patients with the maniac episode showed a decrease in levels of Neurotrophin-3 in comparison to both the control group (P = .045) and the remission group (P = .017). Plasma NT-3 was associated with the YMRS (r = -0.221, P = .003), HDRS (r = 0.209, P = .005) and visuospatial ability score (r = 0.180, P = .017) in patients with BD.