Adelia Nasir
Research Mentor: Jeffrey Bohnen
Mentor Department: Psychiatry, Medicine
Author(s): Adelia Nasir, Lauren Gotting, Farzad Hoque, Jeff Bohnen
Session: Session 2 (10:00 AM – 10:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 37
Abstract
There is increased interest in ketogenic diets as a potential treatment for bipolar disorder. Previous research has established therapeutic ketosis (achievable via fasting or ketogenic diets) as the most time-proven therapy for seizures. Given the mechanistic and therapeutic overlap between bipolar disorder and epilepsy, with mitochondrial dysfunction and altered patterns of neuronal excitability implicated in both disorders, examining the role for therapeutic ketosis in bipolar disorder could prove crucial. This study aims to identify optimal biomarkers that may guide ketone-related treatments for bipolar disorder. Adults diagnosed with bipolar disorder will take exogenous ketone supplements during two visits in the lab. Clinical assessments of global functioning, mood stability, and symptom severity will be correlated with metabolic profiling by way of a multifaceted biomarker panel, including blood ketone, glucose, and insulin assessments. While data collection is still ongoing, preliminary trends may inform future studies assessing ketogenic interventions in this population.
