Gender differences in the phenomenology of bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVES: To investigate gender differences in the phenomenology of episodes in bipolar disorder as according to ICD-10. METHODS: All patients who got a diagnosis of a manic episode/bipolar disorder in a period from 1994 to 2002 at the first outpatient treatment ever or at the first discharge from psychiatric hospitalization ever in Denmark were identified in a nationwide register. RESULTS: Totally, 682 outpatients and 1037 inpatients got a diagnosis of a manic episode/bipolar disorder at the first contact ever. Significantly more women were treated as outpatients than as inpatients. Women were treated for longer periods as inpatients but not as outpatients. In both settings, the prevalence of depressive versus manic/mixed episodes was similar for men and women and the severity of manic episodes (hypomanic /manic without psychosis/manic with psychosis) and the severity of depressive episodes (mild/moderate/severe without psychosis/severe with psychosis) did not differ between genders. The prevalence of psychotic symptoms at first contact was the same for both genders. Among patients treated in outpatient settings more men than women presented with comorbid substance abuse and among patients treated during hospitalization more women than men presented with mixed episodes. CONCLUSIONS: Besides differences in the prevalence of mixed episodes and comorbid substance abuse few gender differences are found among patients presenting with a manic episode/bipolar disorder at first contact in psychiatric inpatient or outpatient hospital settings.     

Diagnostic subtypes of bipolar disorder in older versus younger adults

OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in diagnostic subtypes of bipolar disorder as according to ICD-10 between patients whose first contact with psychiatric health care occurs late in life (over 50 years of age) and patients who have first contact earlier in life (50 years of age or below). METHODS: From 1994 to 2002 all patients who received a diagnosis of a manic episode or bipolar disorder at initial contact with the mental healthcare system, whether outpatient or inpatient, were identified in Denmark's nationwide register. RESULTS: A total of 852 (49.6%) patients, who were over age 50, and 867 patients, who were 50 or below, received a diagnosis of a manic episode or bipolar disorder at the first contact ever. Older inpatients presented with psychotic symptoms (35.4%) significantly less than younger inpatients (42.6%) due specifically to a lower prevalence of manic episodes with psychotic symptoms. Conversely, older inpatients more often presented with severe depressive episodes with psychotic symptoms than younger inpatients (32.0% versus 17.0%). Among outpatients, no significant differences were found between patients older than 50 years and patients 50 years of age or younger. However, a bimodal distribution of age at first outpatient contact was found with an intermode of 65 years and outpatients older than 65 years more often presented with severe depressive episodes with psychosis. CONCLUSIONS: Bipolar patients who are older at first psychiatric hospitalization (>50 years) present less with psychotic manic episodes and more with severe depressive episodes with psychosis than younger patients. The distribution of age at first outpatient contact is bimodal with an intermode of 65 years and outpatients older than 65 years more often present with severe depressive episodes with psychosis.     

心脏手术后精神障碍的临床分析

为研究心脏手术后精神障碍的病因、发病机理及防治措施，对２０５３例心脏手术病人进行了观察。结果显示，５４例病人出现精神障碍并发症，发生率为２．６３％；其中体外循环术后发生率为３．１２％，非体外循环术后发生率为１．４７％，两者间差异有显著性（Ｐ＜０．０５）。术前心功能状况较差者，更易出现精神障碍（Ｐ＜０．０１）。病人均为成年人，症状大多出现于２周以内，表现为躁狂状态、抑郁状态、精神分裂样状态及神经症性反应，经治疗后均痊愈。认为心脏术后精神障碍主要与精神因素、体外循环损伤、心功能状况、年龄等有关，强调精神因素所起的作用，提示应采取综合治疗及预防。     

Manic symptoms and impulsivity during bipolar depressive episodes

OBJECTIVES: In contrast to the extensive literature on the frequent occurrence of depressive symptoms in manic patients, there is little information about manic symptoms in bipolar depressions. Impulsivity is a prominent component of the manic syndrome, so manic features during depressive syndromes may be associated with impulsivity and its consequences, including increased risk of substance abuse and suicidal behavior. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of manic symptoms and their relationships to impulsivity and clinical characteristics in patients with bipolar depressive episodes. METHODS: In 56 bipolar I or II depressed subjects, we investigated the presence of manic symptoms, using Mania Rating Scale (MRS) scores from the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS), and examined its association with other psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, and psychosis), age of onset, history of alcohol and/or other substance abuse and of suicidal behavior, and measures of impulsivity. RESULTS: MRS ranged from 0 to 29 (25th-75th percentile, range 4-13), and correlated significantly with anxiety and psychosis, but not with depression, suggesting the superimposition of a separate psychopathological mechanism. Impulsivity and history of substance abuse, head trauma, or suicide attempt increased with increasing MRS. Receiver-operating curve analysis showed that MRS could divide patients into two groups based on history of alcohol abuse and suicide attempt, with an inflection point corresponding to an MRS score of 6. DISCUSSION: Even modest manic symptoms during bipolar depressive episodes were associated with greater impulsivity, and with histories of alcohol abuse and suicide attempts. Manic symptoms during depressive episodes suggest the presence of a potentially dangerous combination of depression and impulsivity.     

Sibutramine-induced mania as the first manifestation of bipolar disorder

Background

Sibutramine, used in obesity treatment, has been associated with many neuropsychiatric side effects including hypomanic and manic episodes. Hypomanic/manic episodes related to sibutramine treatment were earlier reported in patients who had previous history of bipolar disorder, after sibutramine overdose, after over-the-counter product illegally containing very high dose of sibutramine, together with psychotic symptoms, in organic patient, or after interaction of sibutramine with other drugs.

Case presentation

We report the first case of a patient with clear manic episode, after treatment with recommended dose of sibutramine, without previous history of mood disorders, organic changes or drug interactions, that was followed by episode of depression.

Conclusion

Minimal recommended dose of sibutramine induced manic episode that was the first manifestation of bipolar disorder. The manic episode, associated with sibutramine treatment, was induced in a person without previous history of mood disorders. Potential risks associated with the treatment of obesity using sibutramine warn physicians to be alert not only to common and cardiovascular but also to psychiatric adverse effects. A careful assessment of patient’s mental state and detailed psychiatric family history should be done before sibutramine treatment. In patients with a family history for bipolar disorder the use of even minimal dose of sibutramine should be contraindicated.     

Vulnerability to psychosis in patients attending primary and psychiatric care. Results of the RADEP study

We studied occurrence of psychotic symptoms and their associations with occurrence of depressive and manic symptoms; 563 patients attending primary care (PrC) and 163 patients attending psychiatric outpatient care (PsC) completed a questionnaire including lists of psychotic, manic and depressive symptoms, and patients with depressive symptoms were interviewed using the same questionnaire 6 months after baseline examination. Of PrC patients, 8.5% and of PsC patients, 36.2% reported at least seven lifetime psychotic symptoms. During the 6-month follow-up, the corresponding figures were 0.22% for PrC and 2.84% for PsC patients. Among PrC patients, men, young, never-married, students and unemployed reported more psychotic symptoms than others. In multivariate analyses, occurrence of psychotic symptoms was associated with young age, never being married, poor functioning and former psychiatric treatment, as well as with occurrence of manic and depressive symptoms. Psychotic symptoms are rather prevalent in primary care and very common in psychiatric care. In primary care, vulnerability to psychosis is associated with the patient's background more strongly than in psychiatric care. Concurrent occurrence of psychotic symptoms with manic and depressive symptoms is common.     

A prospective study of the early postsurgical psychiatric associations of epilepsy surgery

OBJECTIVES— To examine prospectively the frequencyand nature of psychiatric symptoms seen in patients during the firstthree months after temporal lobe surgery for chronic intractableepilepsy and in addition to study the relation between presurgicalmental state, laterality of surgery, and postsurgical seizure andpsychiatric course.
METHOD—A consecutive series of 60 patients beingassessed for temporal lobe surgery for intractable epilepsy werestudied. They were interviewed before surgery and at six weeks andagain at three months after operation.
RESULTS—At six weeks after surgery half of thosewith no psychopathology preoperatively had developed symptoms ofanxiety or depression and 45% of all patients were noted to haveincreased emotional lability. By three months after surgery emotionallability and anxiety symptoms had diminished whereas depressive statestended to persist. Patients with a left hemispheric focus were morelikely to experience persisting anxiety.
CONCLUSION—The early months after surgery forepilepsy are characterised by the relatively common presence ofpsychiatric symptoms. It is proposed that presurgical and earlypostsurgical neuropsychiatric involvement in programmes of surgery forepilepsy will help to improve the quality of the treatment packageoffered to patients.

     

Vulnerability to psychosis in patients attending primary and psychiatric care. Results of the RADEP study

We studied occurrence of psychotic symptoms and their associations with occurrence of depressive and manic symptoms; 563 patients attending primary care (PrC) and 163 patients attending psychiatric outpatient care (PsC) completed a questionnaire including lists of psychotic, manic and depressive symptoms, and patients with depressive symptoms were interviewed using the same questionnaire 6 months after baseline examination. Of PrC patients, 8.5% and of PsC patients, 36.2% reported at least seven lifetime psychotic symptoms. During the 6-month follow-up, the corresponding figures were 0.22% for PrC and 2.84% for PsC patients. Among PrC patients, men, young, never-married, students and unemployed reported more psychotic symptoms than others. In multivariate analyses, occurrence of psychotic symptoms was associated with young age, never being married, poor functioning and former psychiatric treatment, as well as with occurrence of manic and depressive symptoms. Psychotic symptoms are rather prevalent in primary care and very common in psychiatric care. In primary care, vulnerability to psychosis is associated with the patient's background more strongly than in psychiatric care. Concurrent occurrence of psychotic symptoms with manic and depressive symptoms is common.     

A Population-Based,Nationwide Longitudinal Study of Bipolar Disorder With Incident Dementia in Taiwan

ObjectiveAffective disorders are associated with increased risk of dementia, yet most studies focus on the association of major depressive disorder or depressive episodes of bipolar disorder with increased dementia risk. The association of manic/mixed episodes of bipolar disorder with increased dementia risk is unclear.ParticipantsBetween January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2009, 20,535 individuals aged 45–80 years with bipolar disorder and 82,140 age- and sex-matched comparisons were enrolled and followed up to December 2011 in Taiwan. Those who developed dementia (ICD-9-CM codes: 290.0–290.4, 294.1–294.2, and 331.0–331.2) during the follow-up period were identified.Design and MethodsCox proportional hazards models were used to examine the relationship between manic/mixed/depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and incident dementia. We also assessed the association between the frequency of psychiatric admissions (total, manic/mixed, and depressive episodes per year) for bipolar disorder and dementia risk.ResultsBipolar disorder was associated with increased risk of incident dementia (hazard ratio [HR]: 7.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.86–8.25). Greater frequency of manic/mixed (>2/year: HR: 4.50, 3.50–5.79; 1–2/year: HR: 3.17, 2.31–4.36) and depressive episodes (>2/year: HR: 7.84, 5.93–10.36; 1–2/year: HR: 2.93, 2.05–4.19) were associated with increased risk of incident dementia.ConclusionsNot only depressive episode of bipolar disorder, but manic/mixed episodes of bipolar play a role as a risk factor of incident dementia, especially for those patients with more than two manic/mixed episodes per year. These findings remind the clinicians the importance of preventing the relapse of bipolar disorder for the potential subsequent cognitive decline and disease.     

The first lithium clinic in Hong Kong: a Chinese profile.

A study of 50 Chinese patients referred to the first lithium clinic in Hong Kong revealed a high prevalence of recurrent mania and rarely unipolar depression. A history of delusions and hallucinations, and re-diagnosis from schizophrenia to manic depressive psychosis, were common. Lithium was prescribed after 3.9 episodes of illness, and at a dosage of 1,191 mg despite a moderate serum level of 0.63 mmol/l. Laboratory monitoring was haphazard, and polypharmacy was common. This might pose unnecessary risks to some patients.     

Syndromes and phenomenological subtypes underlying acute mania: a factor analytic study of 576 manic patients

OBJECTIVE: There are no factor analytic studies specifically including symptoms representative of depressive inhibition among manic patients, although Kraepelin described several mixed affective states with depressive inhibition. There is controversy as to whether atypical manic features such as aggression, psychosis, and depression are likely to coexist among manic patients. The authors' goal was to examine this controversy. METHOD: They used a standardized instrument to assess the presence or absence of 37 psychiatric symptoms in 576 consecutive inpatients who were diagnosed as having DSM-IV manic episode, nonmixed or mixed. RESULTS: A principal-component analysis followed by varimax rotation extracted seven independent interpretable factors (depressive mood, irritable aggression, insomnia, depressive inhibition, pure manic symptoms, emotional lability/agitation, and psychosis) that were relatively stable across several patient groups. A subsequent cluster analysis identified four phenomenological subtypes underlying acute mania: pure, aggressive, psychotic, and depressive (mixed) mania. Several variables, including gender, suicidality, and outcome of treatments, significantly differentiated the subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with mania, depressive inhibition may be a salient syndrome independent of depressive mood, lending some support to Kraepelin's classification of mixed manic states on the basis of the permutations of three elements-thought disorder, mood, and psychomotor activity. Depressive inhibition, together with depressive mood and emotional lability/agitation, appears to be an important phenomenological element of mixed states. Atypical manic features such as aggression, psychosis, and depression are not likely to coexist, but they are likely separately to characterize several different subtypes potentially underlying acute mania.     

Antidepressant-associated switches from depression to mania in severe bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether switching from depression to mania is part of the natural history of bipolar illness or results from antidepressant (AD) treatment by examining bipolar patients with psychosis early in their illness course. METHODS: A multi-facility cohort of 123 first-admission inpatients, aged 15-60 years, with DSM-IV bipolar disorder (BD) with psychotic features, was followed for four years, and 76 individuals experienced at least one episode of depression. Frequency of and risk factors for switches from depression to mania, time to switch, and duration of the subsequent manic episode were examined in relation to AD use (with anti-manic and/or antipsychotic medications). RESULTS: The 76 respondents experienced 113 depressive episodes. Those prescribed ADs had more depressive episodes and spent more time depressed than non-users. A total of 23 depressive episodes in 17 respondents ended in a manic/hypomanic/mixed episode (20%). The time to switch and duration of the subsequent manic episode were not significantly different for the seven respondents and nine episodes involving AD treatment versus the 10 respondents and 14 episodes without ADs. None of the risk factors (age of onset 相似文献   

Postoperative psychoses in epileptic patients after temporal lobectomy

Introduction – Psychosis is the most severe psychiatric complication after epilepsy surgery. Patients and methods – We evaluated postoperatively at 1 year the psychoses of a series of 57 adult patients with intractable epilepsy who underwent temporal lobe surgery. Results – Five patients (8.8%) developed postoperative psychosis. Two (3.5%) of these 5 revealed postictal psychotic episodes in connection with persisting seizures, both of them had had similar episodes even preoperatively. Two patients (3.5%) exhibited a definite and one patient (1.8%) a probable de novo schizophrenia. Conclusion – Our findings clearly emphasize the need for careful postoperative psychiatric follow-up for patients with temporal lobectomy.     

Differences in diagnostic subtypes among patients with late and early onset of a single depressive episode

OBJECTIVE: It is unclear whether patients with late onset and patients with early onset present with different subtypes of depression. The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence of subtypes of ICD-10 single depressive episodes for patients with late onset (age >65 years) and patient with early onset (age < or = 65 years) in a nationwide sample of all patients discharged from psychiatric in- or outpatient settings. METHOD: All patients who got a diagnosis of a single depressive episode in a period from 1994-2002 at the end of the first outpatient treatment or at the first discharge from psychiatric hospitalisation ever in Denmark were identified in a nationwide register. RESULTS: In total, 18.192 patients were given a diagnosis of a single depressive episode at the first outpatient contact and 8.396 patients were given a diagnosis of a single depressive episode at the first psychiatric hospitalisation ever. Patients with late onset were more often women, more often presented with a severe depressive episode and more often with psychosis than patients with early onset, in both inpatient and outpatient treatment settings. No differences were found between patients with late and patients with early onset in the prevalence of depression with or without melancholic symptoms-in either of the treatment settings. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a late onset first depressive episode are more often women and are clinically characterised by more severe depressions and a higher prevalence of psychosis than patients with early onset.     

Psychopathological and emotional deficits in myotonic dystrophy

OBJECTIVE—To evaluatepsychopathological disturbances in patients with myotonic dystrophy(MD) and compare patients with MD to both patients withfacioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) and healthy control subjects.
METHODS—Asemistructured interview was used to determine DSM III-R criteria formajor depressive episodes, dysthymic episodes, and generalised anxiety.The Montgomery and Asberg and the Hamilton depressive scales, the Coviand Tyrer anxiety scales, the Abrams and Taylor scale for emotionalblunting, and the depressive mood scale were all used in the study.Subjects were also asked to complete questionnaires for physical andsocial anhedonia.
RESULTS—Fifteenpatients with MD, 11 patients with FSHD, and 14 healthy subjects werestudied. Patients with MD were not more depressed or anxious thanhealthy controls. Patients with FSHD were the most depressed and mostanxious. However, patients with MD had significantly lower scores forexpressiveness and significantly higher scores for anhedonia than theother two groups.
CONCLUSION—Patientswith MD did not present significant depressive or anxioussymptomatology but rather an emotional deficit. This emotional deficitmay be an adaptive reaction to the threatening implications of thedisease, or the effect of the CNS lesions which occur with MD, or both.

     

Psychiatric Outcome of Temporal Lobectomy for Epilepsy: Incidence and Treatment of Psychiatric Complications

Summary: Purpose: To determine the incidence of psychiatric disorders before and after surgical treatment for partial epilepsy and to document the effectiveness of their treatment.
Methods: Fifty consecutive patients treated surgically for focal epilepsy (44 temporal and six frontal) were evaluated by established neuropsychiatric methods before surgery and over a mean period of 2 years after surgery. The patients with interictal dysphoric disorders, with or without psychotic episodes, were treated with tricyclic antidepressant medication alone or combined with serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors and, if necessary, with the addition of risperidone.
Results: Before surgery, 25 (57%) of the 44 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy had dysphoric disorders. After surgery, 17 (39%) of the 44 patients experienced either de novo psychiatric complications (six psychotic episodes, six dysphoric disorders, and two depressive episodes) or exacerbation of preoperative dysphoric disorder (three patients). Eight previously intact patients of the 19 (42%) developed dysphoric disorders after surgery that were significantly related to recurrence of seizures. All psychiatric complications occurred in the first 2 months after surgery, except for the six patients intact before surgery, who had a recurrence of seizures. A significant predictor of ultimate excellent psychiatric outcome was complete absence of seizures after surgery. All postoperative psychiatric complications remitted on treatment with psychotropic medication in the compliant patients.
Conclusions: An exceptional psychiatric morbidity is associated with the months after temporal lobectomy. Possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed. Antidepressant drugs are very effective in treating the psychiatric disorders of chronic epilepsy; their use in conjunction with the surgical treatment of epilepsy appears to be crucial for the overall positive outcome of a significant number of patients.     

Differences in diagnostic patterns in Britain and America

Since 1935, it has been repeatedly noted that English psychiatrists diagnose affective disorders, particularly manic depressive psychosis, more often on first admission than American psychiatrists.^1,2 They diagnose schizophrenia less frequently.The first systematic review of these differences was done by Kramer in 1961.^3,4 He observed that overall first admission rates in the United States and United Kingdom were reasonably close, but in the United Kingdom schizophrenia was diagnosed 50% less often and manic depressive psychosis nearly 900% more often than in the United States.In a study at the New York Psychiatric Institute, it was noted that the diagnosis of schizophrenia increased rapidly in the 1940s and peaked about 1952.⁵ When charts were reviewed and rediagnosed by a British-trained psychiatrist, the number of cases diagnosed as schizophrenia decreased. These and other observations led naturally to speculation.Are hospitalized patients different in Britain or is the difference only one of diagnostic criteria? If the patients are different, is the difference in first admission diagnosts the result of toleration of different forms of mental aberration or are different diagnoses kept at home in the two countries? Is the major difference in psychiatric training? These questions seemed to present an excellent, naturally occurring opportunity to study patient pathology, psychiatric criteria for diagnosis, and the cultural attitudes and tolerance toward varying forms of mental aberration.     

Rates and predictors of developing a manic or hypomanic episode 1 to 2 years following a first hospitalization for major depression with psychotic features

INTRODUCTION: Although the presence of psychosis during major depression has been identified as a predictor of later developing mania or hypomania, to our knowledge there have been no studies examining rates and predictors of developing a manic or hypomanic episode in patients who were admitted for their first psychiatric hospitalization for major depressive disorder with psychosis (MDDP). METHODS: Patients admitted for their first psychiatric hospitalization, with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition) diagnosis of MDDP, were recruited from three sites (N = 157) and evaluated prospectively for up to 2 years to identify new symptoms of mania or hypomania. Family history was assessed using the Family History-Research Diagnostic Criteria Interview. Clinical and demographic factors associated with developing a manic or hypomanic episode were identified using stepwise logistic regression. RESULTS: Thirteen percent (n = 21) of patients with MDDP developed mania or hypomania within the follow-up period. Family history of affective disorders and age at onset of MDDP were not predictive of switch. MDDP patients who were treated with antidepressants were four times less likely to develop mania or hypomania than those who were not treated with antidepressants, after controlling for site differences. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that within the first 1 to 2 years following first hospitalization for MDDP, a subset of patients will develop mania or hypomania. Additionally, our data suggest that antidepressant exposure does not increase the risk of, and may be protective against, developing a manic or hypomanic episode in patients hospitalized for MDDP.     

Prodromal symptoms in manic depressive psychosis

Summary Twenty patients suffering from manic depressive psychosis were interviewed about the prodromes to both manic and depressive episodes. These prodromal periods were compared with a recent control period during which the patient was in remission. It was possible for 85% of patients to identify a depressive prodrome and 75% a manic prodrome. Prodromal periods were characterised by a significant increase in the number and magnitude of symptoms compared with those present during remission. The mean duration of manic prodromes was slightly longer than that of depressive prodromes (28.9 days and 18.8 days respectively). The majority of patients could identify a time sequence to the retainment of insight during their prodromes and could also identify idiosyncratic symptoms.     

Is antidepressant-associated mania always an evidence of a bipolar spectrum disorder? A case report and review of the literature

Objective

The authors consider the clinical implications of characterizing every case of antidepressant-induced mania as evidence of an underlying bipolar diathesis.

Method

The authors report the case of a 45-year-old man, with no personal or family history of bipolar symptoms, who developed manic symptoms after sertraline initiation for a first lifetime depressive episode.

Results

The patient's manic symptoms resolved rapidly with cessation of sertraline. His depressive symptoms responded to mirtazapine, and he had no further mood episodes during 2-year follow-up.

Discussion

It may not always be appropriate to identify selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-induced manic symptoms as pathognomonic for the bipolar diathesis, particularly as the bipolar formulation has distinct implications for future pharmacologic choices.