IntroductionBipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by unusual shifts in mood and energy and affects 1 to 3% of the general population. Lithium (Li) can prevent patients from depression and mania, as well as reduce the risk of suicide. Unfortunately, a high rate of patients do not respond positively to Li treatment. In line with various studies, Li treatment is also associated with potentially severe adverse reactions, including renal dysfunctions. Specifically, it has been reported that Li may induce reduction of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in long-term treated BD patients.AimsThe aim of our study was to evaluate the contribution of genetic variants in Li-induced reduction of the estimated GFR (eGFR) in bipolar patients, under long term Li therapy.ObjectivesWe screened the literature to identify genes previously shown to be associated with kidney function or Li mechanism of action and genotyped tag SNPs covering these genes.MethodsThe sample comprised 70 Sardinian bipolar patients genotyped for 46 SNPs, located in 33 genes, with Invader assay and Sanger sequencing.ResultsOur results showed that a SNP (rs378448) located in Acid Sensing Ion Channel Neurona-1 (ACCN1) gene, significantly interacted with years of Li treatment in reducing eGFR (F = 4.166, P = 0.046).ConclusionsOur preliminary findings suggest that ACCN1 (ASIC2) gene could be involved in modulating the susceptibility of BD patients to develop renal dysfunctions induced by chronic Li treatment.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
Impact of Mutations at Amino Acid 70 in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Genotype 1b Core Region on Hepatocarcinogenesis following Eradication of HCV RNA