Abstract

STRATEGIES FOR COMPARISONS OF A POSTMORTEM COLLECTION TO SUBJECTS IN THE GENERAL POPULATION WITH NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS

D.M. Walsh; M.P. Vawter; R.A. Stein; P. Cartagena; S.G. Potkin; W. Bunney Jr
Society for Neuroscience 34th Annual Meeting. 2004.

There is a large body of postmortem research into the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. Few studies have extensively commented on the representativeness of postmortem samples relative to the general population. We compared psychological autopsy data (n = 92) collected at the University of California Irvine Brain Repository (UCIBR) to larger outpatient groups to determine similarity in demographic and clinical characteristics. We characterized a subgroup of postmortem subjects that do not have prolonged agonal duration (Hardy, et al, 1985), pH below 6.6, or Average Correlation Indexes below 0.94 since these factors may adversely affect microarray results (Tomita, et al, 2004; Li, et al, 2004). The postmortem microarray sample consisted of 18 subjects with major depression (MDD), 11 with bipolar disorder (BPD) and 18 controls contrasted to epidemiological surveys of individuals with BPD (Stanley Center Bipolar Registry) or MDD (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey). There were similar demographics between the UCIBR microarray BPD and MDD subjects compared to the two epidemiological surveys. The UCIBR and MEPS MDD groups were alike with regard to treatment rates and classifications of psychotropic medications. The Stanley Center Bipolar Registry and the UCIBR BPD groups were similar in several demographic characteristics, age of onset, frequency of prior suicide attempts, types of treatment interventions, number of concurrent medications prescribed, and types of psychotropic medications prescribed. Postmortem subjects profiled through a psychological autopsy method (Kelly & Mann, 1996) represented the clinical and demographic characteristics of two larger studies of individuals with affective disorders in the U.S. Support Contributed By: NIMH Conte Center Grant P50 MH60398, the Pritzker Family Philanthropic Fund, the William Lion Penzner Foundation.