Evaluation of Peripheral Blood Concentrations of Phoenixin, Spexin, Nesfatin-1 and Kisspeptin as Potential Biomarkers of Bipolar Disorder in the Pediatric Population.

There are some initial suggestions in the literature that phoenixin, spexin, nesfatin-1 and kisspeptin may play a role in the pathogenesis of affective disorders. Therefore, they may also be cautiously considered as potential diagnostic or predictive biomarkers of BD. This study aimed to evaluate the levels of the aforementioned neuropeptides in the peripheral blood of children and adolescents with bipolar. This study included 122 individuals: 67 persons with diagnosed bipolar disorder types I and II constituted the study group, and 55 healthy persons were included in the control group. Statistically significant differences in the concentrations of neuropeptides between the control and study groups were noted in relation to nesfatin-1 and spexin (although spexin lost statistical significance after introducing the Bonferroni correction). In a logistic regression analysis, an increased risk of bipolar disorder was noted for a decrease in nesfatin-1 concentration. Lower levels of nesfatin-1 seemed to be a significant risk factor for the development of bipolar disorder types I and II. Furthermore, the occurrence of bipolar disorder was associated with significantly elevated levels of spexin. None of the analyzed neuropeptides was significantly correlated with the number of symptoms of bipolar disorder.

Predictive efficiency of phoenixin, spexin and kisspeptin neuropeptides concentration levels in diagnosis of bipolar disorder in paediatric population. / Skutecznosc predykcyjna stezen neuropeptydów: feniksyny, speksyny i kisspeptyny dla diagnozy choroby afektywnej dwubiegunowej w populacji pediatrycznej.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess concentrations of the following neuropeptides: phoenixin, spexin and kisspeptin in venous blood serum of children and adolescents suffering from bipolar disorder, and by this their predictive efficiency in this disorder. METHODS: The study covered 75 individuals with a mean age of 15.26 years (95% CI: 14.86-15.67), of which the study group comprised of 57 individuals diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder and the control group - 18 individuals with no psychiatric diagnosis and no pharmacological treatment. Phoenixin, spexin and kisspeptin levels were determined in the peripheral venous blood serum. Neuropeptide concentrations were measured with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The mean phoenixin concentration in the studied group equalled 1.57 ng/ml (95% CI: 1.35-1.79), while in the control group - 2.69 ng/ml (95% CI: 2.38-3; U Mann-Whitney test p-value < 0.05). For spexin, these results were 639.65 pg/ml (95% CI: 558.86-720.44) in the studied group, and 354.28 pg/ml (95% CI: 310.33-398.22; U Mann-Whitney test p-value < 0.05) in the control group. The observed differences were statistically significant. The mean concentration of kisspeptin levels in the studied group was 126.02 pg/ml (95% CI: 39.82-212.23; median: 59.85), while in the control group - 54.83 pg/ml (95% CI: 39.23-70.43; median: 51.3; U Mann-Whitney test p-value = 0.29), and the observed difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of bipolar disorder symptoms is statistically significantly linked with a decreased phoenixin concentration and to a small degree - with an increased spexin concentration in blood serum of patients. However, it is not linked with the kisspeptin concentration.

Systematic Review of Literature on Eating Disorders During Pregnancy-Risk and Consequences for Mother and Child.

Background: Eating disorders (ED) are a diagnostic category that includes several nosological units such as anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), or binge eating disorder (BED). This category most often concerns women, while the peak incidence falls on the reproductive age. Therefore the issue of ED during pregnancy is an interesting topic. Due to the creation of unrealistic ideal of "desired," slim figure both by the mass media and social media even during and right after gestation, more and more pregnant women introduce behaviours aimed at maintaining the "perfect" appearance. However in some cases it may have serious consequences for the health of both mother and child leading to the creation of the term "pregorexia" by the media to describe this issue. Aim: The aim of this paper was to conduct a systematic review of the literature dealing with eating disorders in pregnant women, with particular emphasis on pregorexia. Method: A systematic review of literature published within the last 5 years (2016-2021) in English or Polish and available through MEDLINE / PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library databases was conducted based on the previously assumed inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Initially, 634 publications were obtained during the review, of which 55 papers were selected in the course of the title analysis. After further evaluation of abstracts, 28 papers were qualified for full text analysis. Ultimately, 10 papers were selected for the final analysis. Conclusions: The issue of ED in pregnant women is a broad topic covering a heterogeneous group of women-both those with a previous history and those with the onset during pregnancy. The occurrence of ED symptoms during this period is associated with a high likelihood of negative consequences for both the mother and the child. The course of pregnancies and deliveries in these patients is more complicated. Therefore, it seems reasonable to develop a multidisciplinary screening strategy and standards of management and supervision over this group of patients.