CONTEXT Bipolar disorder consists of episodes of manic and depressive symptoms. Efforts to screen for depression in a primary care setting without assessment of past manic symptoms can lead to incorrect diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder. OBJECTIVES To screen for bipolar disorder in adult primary care patients and to examine its clinical presentation and effect on functioning. DESI...

BACKGROUND Although genetic epidemiological studies have confirmed increased rates of major depressive disorder among the relatives of people with bipolar affective disorder, no report has compared the clinical characteristics of depression between these two groups. AIMS To compare clinical features of depressive episodes across participants with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder...

The Kraepelinian dichotomy sees schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as two distinctly separate diseases each with its own pathogenesis and disease process. This study looks at the difference between patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in terms of suicidal behaviour. Both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have been identified as significant risk factors for suicide, while bipolar an...

BACKGROUND Studies have shown that chronic inflammation may play a vital role in the pathophysiology of both gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and bipolar disorder. Among patients with GERD, the risk of bipolar disorder has not been well characterized. OBJECTIVE We explored the relationship between GERD and the subsequent development of bipolar disorder, and examined the risk factors for...

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to: (i) describe the phenomenology of youths diagnosed with subsyndromal bipolar disorders; (ii) describe the phenomenology of youngsters who are the children of bipolar parents, who are also experiencing subsyndromal symptoms of bipolar disorder (patients with 'cyclotaxia'); and (iii) explore which symptoms may be most useful in identifying youths w...

Aim: To assess serum Cu/Zn SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) concentration in individuals with bipolar disorder. Subjects and methods: Serum from 20 individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder and 20 age and gender similar controls were tested for Cu/Zn SOD serum concentration using ELISAs. Results: Serum Cu/Zn SOD levels of individuals with bipolar disorder were significantly higher than age and gend...

We review the evidence that Bipolar Disorder with Comorbid Anxiety, Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder, Mixed Affective states, are all related to each other and to Dopamine Transmission in Bipolar Disorder. All these states are related to the presence of particular polymorphisms of the genes of the D2 and D3 receptors. All these states increase the risk of suicidality. Substance and alcohol abuse ...

BACKGROUND Bipolar disorder is complex and can be difficult to diagnose. It is often misdiagnosed as recurrent major depressive disorder. AIMS We had three main aims. To estimate the proportion of primary care patients with a working diagnosis of unipolar depression who satisfy DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder. To test two screening instruments for bipolar disorder (the Hypomania Checklis...

Atypical antipsychotics have become a widely utilized component of the bipolar disorder treatment armamentarium, with approximately 45% of bipolar patients prescribed atypicals. Over the last decade all atypical drugs except for clozapine have received a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bipolar indication. In October 2008, the FDA approved quetiapine XR monotherapy for the treatment of acute ...

CONTEXT Cannabis use disorders commonly co-occur in bipolar disorder; however, the effects of cannabis abuse on outcome have been minimally studied. OBJECTIVE To identify how the sequence of the onsets of a cannabis use disorder and bipolar disorder is associated with the subsequent course of each condition. DESIGN Inception cohort. SETTING Academic medical center. PATIENTS Patients (N ...