Macromolecular Proton Fraction Reveals Divergent White Matter Myelination in Bipolar Disorder and Unipolar Recurrent Depression.

ABSTRACT: Recurrent depressive disorder (RDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are the most common affective disorders worldwide. However, the pathogenesis of these disorders remains far from understood. Macromolecular proton fraction (MPF) mapping is a sensitive and specific quantitative MRI method for the assessment of brain tissue myelination, but its clinical value for affective disorders remains unknown. This cross-sectional study employed fast MPF mapping on a 1.5 T MRI scanner using the single-point synthetic reference method to investigate myelin abnormalities in white matter of RDD and BD patients. ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of the group (RDD vs. BD vs. two age-matched control groups; F (3.76) = 7.42, p < 0.001, η² = 0.227). MPF values were significantly reduced in

SUBMITTER: Gusakova S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12837752 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature