BACKGROUND Relatively low levels of brain N-acetylaspartate, as measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy, may indicate decreased neuronal density or viability. Dorsolateral prefrontal levels of N-acetylaspartate have been reported to be decreased in adults with bipolar disorder. We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate dorsolateral prefrontal N-acetylaspartate levels in ...

Children of parents with bipolar disorder (bipolar offspring) represent a rich cohort for study with potential for illumination of prodromal forms of bipolar disorder. Due to their high-risk nature, bipolar offspring may present phenomenological, temperamental, and biological clues to early presentations of bipolar disorder. This article reviews the evidence for establishing bipolar offspring a...

Numerous studies have been done on using low serum lithium levels for maintenance therapy of bipolar mood disorder over the past 30-40 years. In this study we sought for the most suitable serum lithium level that having longer relapse's interval periods and less side effects as to recommended it as a maintenance serum lithium level. Thus, we studied 90 patients with bipolar mood disorder (accor...

INTRODUCTION Over the past decade the use of lamotrigine in bipolar disorder has increased. However, the evidence base suggests a more limited role for lamotrigine as part of an overall treatment regimen in bipolar disorder. AREAS COVERED We reviewed publications of randomized clinical trials of lamotrigine, emphasizing studies in bipolar disorder. The low burden of adverse effects with lamot...

The co-occurrence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder has received much recent attention in the literature. The authors review the literature examining associations between ADHD and bipolar disorder in children, and data concerning severe irritability in youth with ADHD. This article focuses on (1) population-based studies examining ADHD and bipolar disorder ...

CONTEXT Although bipolar disorder may have its onset during childhood, little is known about national trends in the diagnosis and management of bipolar disorder in young people. OBJECTIVES To present national trends in outpatient visits with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and to compare the treatment provided to youth and adults during those visits. DESIGN We compare rates of growth betwee...

OBJECTIVES Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia share common pathophysiological processes and may have similar perceptual abnormalities. Mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a - event-related potentials associated with auditory preattentional processing - have been extensively studied in schizophrenia, but rarely in bipolar disorder. Furthermore, MMN and P3a have not been examined between diagnostic s...

OBJECTIVES The aims of the study were to validate the Turkish version of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) as a screening tool and to determine its optimum cut-off value for bipolar disorder. METHODS Validation of the Turkish version of the MDQ was conducted on a sample of 309 consecutive patients who attended the psychiatry outpatient unit of 2 different university hospitals. The Structu...

In recent years, a growing number of clinical and epidemiological studies have reported high rates of comorbid anxiety disorder in patients with bipolar disorder. These studies have stated that comorbid anxiety disorder in bipolar patients is the rule rather than the exception. Lifetime anxiety disorder comorbidity rates among bipolar disorder patients are estimated to be between 24% and 93%, b...