Recurrent manic episodes are associated with progressive worsening of cognitive performance in patients with bipolar I disorder, research suggests. (Source: MedWire News - Psychiatry)MedWorm Message: Register for MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network, and receive $5 free advertising.

Jin Wang, Hui Yuan Dong, Wei Xiang Jiang, and Tie Jun Cui Transformation optical devices based on the concept of complementary medium have attracted much attention due to their novel properties. A recent paper [H. Chen and C. T. Chan, Opt. Lett. 34, 2649 (2009)] showed a class of complementary medium in bipolar coordinates, which can render the object invi ... [J. Appl. Phys. 108, 053503 (2010)] published Thu Sep 2, 2010. (Source: Journal of Applied Physics)

(Source: PharmacoEconomics)

A 5-year follow-up study shows that the vast majority of youths with bipolar 1 disorder experience persistent mood symptoms that require pharmacotherapy into late adolescence. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Nurses Headlines)

Around a fifth of patients with bipolar II disorder have a history of psychosis during depression, say researchers who suggest that bipolar II disorder with psychosis may represent a distinct phenotype. (Source: MedWire News - Psychiatry)

Symptomatic improvement over baseline was similar in the placebo groups in a meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials, regardless of whether or not the active drug proved effective. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)MedWorm Message: Register for MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network, and receive $5 free advertising.

Use of medication treatment algorithms may facilitate clinical decision making, improve consistency, and reduce polypharmacy in the correctional setting. A feasibility study was conducted investigating use of Texas Implementation of Medication Algorithms (TIMA) guidelines for bipolar disorder in the Connecticut Department of Correction. Forty inmates with diagnoses of bipolar disorder were treated over a 12-week period adhering to the TIMA algorithm for bipolar disorder. Significant improvement was seen in the primary and secondary outcome measures (p

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and cardiometabolic risk factors, such as overweight, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and glucose abnormalities, was substantial and frequently untreated in this U.S. national mental health clinic screening program. (Source: Psychiatr Serv)

This study aimed to determine whether GDNF in serum was abnormal in BD, and how it responded to drug treatment of BD.Method: Serum GDNF concentrations were measured in BD patients before treatment, after 8weeks of drug treatment, and in control subjects using a sandwich ELISA method.Results: Before treatment, serum GDNF was significantly lower in BD patients during both manic (P (Source: Journal of Affective Disorders)

Conclusions: Male and female patients with MDD and BD exhibit selective erythrocyte DHA deficits relative to healthy controls, and this deficit was numerically greater in BD patients. Selective DHA deficits are consistent with impaired peroxisome function, which has implications for n-3 fatty acid interventions aimed at preventing or reversing this deficit. (Source: Journal of Affective Disorders)

Abstract: Background: In the present study we investigated genetic variants associated with bipolar disorder in a homogenous Norwegian sample, and potential genetic overlap with schizophrenia, using the Affymetrix 6.0 array.Methods: We carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) by genotyping 620 390 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a case-control sample of Norwegian origin (the TOP study) including bipolar disorder (n=194), healthy controls (n=336) and schizophrenia (n=230), followed by replication and combined analysis in a genetically concordant Icelandic sample of bipolar disorder (n=435), and healthy controls (n=10,258).Results: We selected 1000 markers with the lowest P values in the TOP discovery GWAS and tested these (or their surrogates) for association in the Icel...MedWorm Message: Register for MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network, and receive $5 free advertising.

Abstract: Background: Mixed-states of bipolar disorders (BPD) may predict worse future illness and more depressive than manic morbidity, challenging a tendency to conflate mixed-states and mania.Methods: Patients (N=247) were followed-up systematically for 24months following hospitalization for initial major episodes of DSM-IV type-I BPD and scored for weekly interval morbidity-types.Results: Overall morbidity during follow-up was 1.6-times greater following mixed (n=97) versus manic (n=150) first-episodes of BPD (60.0 vs. 37.8%-of-weeks; p (Source: Journal of Affective Disorders)

Conclusions: Identifying lifetime manic symptoms with the MDQ in persons presenting with (unipolar) depressive or anxiety disorders, can not only help the recognition of actual bipolar disorder (as described in previous studies), but also the identification of a subgroup of patients with more severe symptomatology, more comorbid anxiety and alcohol dependence disorders, and more suicidality. (Source: Journal of Affective Disorders)

Conclusions: Professional areas and educational level are associated with distinct emotional and affective profiles. (Source: Journal of Affective Disorders)

Abstract: Introduction: Psychotic symptoms in bipolar II disorder, allowed by definition only during a depressive episode, are present in a range between 3% and 45%. Little is known regarding the impact of psychotic symptoms on the clinical course of bipolar II patients. Findings from previous reports are controversial and focused specifically on bipolar I disorder. The aim of this study was to ascertain the clinical characteristics of individuals with bipolar II disorder with and without lifetime history of psychotic symptoms.Methods: The sample consisted of 164 DSM-IV Bipolar II patients consecutively recruited from the Barcelona Bipolar Disorder Program. Patients were divided in Bipolar II patients with (N=32) and without (N=132) lifetime history of psychotic symptoms. Clinical and soci...

Conclusion: The role of postpartum onset as a DSM course modifier should be reconsidered, as it seems to have no impact on prognosis or functioning. (Source: Journal of Affective Disorders)MedWorm Message: Register for MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network, and receive $5 free advertising.

Abstract: Background: Rapid cycling bipolar disorder has been studied almost exclusively in clinical samples.Methods: A national cross-sectional survey in 2003–2004 in New Zealand used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0). Diagnosis was by DSM-IV. Depression severity was assessed with the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms (QIDS) and role impairment using Sheehan Scales. Complex survey analyses compared percentages and means, and used logistic regression and discrete-time survival analyses. Frequent mood episodes (FMEs) in the past 12months (4+) were used as an indicator of rapid cycling.Results: The lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder (I + II) was 1.7%. Twelve-month prevalence was 1.0%: 0.3% with FME and 0.7% with No FME (1–3 episodes). Another 0.7% had ...

Abstract: Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in persons with bipolar disorder but little is known about utilization of services for risk reduction. We assessed determinants of access to weight counseling in a sample of patients with bipolar disorder.Methods: Patients enrolled in the Continuous Improvement for Veterans in Care: Mood Disorders (CIVIC-MD), a prospective study conducted from July 2004–July 2006. Patient data were obtained from a baseline questionnaire and chart review.Results: Out of 298 patients, 73% received some weight counseling, with utilization more likely for those with higher BMI (OR=1.12, p (Source: Journal of Affective Disorders)

Abstract: Background: The aim of this research was to evaluate the short-term and long-term efficacy of a combined treatment (pharmacological + psychoeducational and cognitive-behavioral therapy) as compared with a standard pharmacological treatment in patients with refractory bipolar disorder.Method: 40 patients were randomly assigned to one of the following: Experimental group under combined treatment, and Control group under pharmacological treatment. We used an analysis of variance (ANOVA), including one or two factors, with repeated measures at different evaluation times: baseline, post-treatment, 6-month follow-up and 12-month follow-up.Results: We found significant between-group differences at all evaluation times after the treatment. The experimental group showed less hospitalizati...

Conclusions: These data suggest SA is a valid diagnosis in the early phase of psychotic disorders considering it defines a subgroup of first episode psychotic mania patients with distinct characteristics compared to BD. While a dimensional approach to diagnosis may be more adapted to this phase of illness, SA disorder offers, in the context of categorical classifications, a useful intermediate category that reflects a clinical reality. (Source: Journal of Affective Disorders)