http://discussbipolar.com Blog to discuss being Bipolar Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Over one-third of bipolar disorder (BD) patients do not receive adequate provision or continuity of maintenance treatment during their first follow-up maintenance phase, indicate study findings.Studies investigating maintenance treatment in BD have lacked agreement on how the longitudinal treatment phases should be defined, thus presenting inconsistent results.Erkki Isometsä (Helsinki University ... http://discussbipolar.com/2010/01/102/ Study findings highlight the need for clinicians to recognize comorbid eating disorders in patients with bipolar disorder.M Fornaro (University of Genoa, Italy) and colleagues found that one in three women with bipolar disorder had at least one eating disorder. Also, the presence of comorbid eating disorders may influence both the ... http://discussbipolar.com/2010/01/101/ Research findings suggest that there are unique neural mechanisms mediating face??"emotion processing deficits in patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, and severe mood dysregulation.Diagnosing these three psychiatric illnesses is difficult because deficits in emotion processing and hyperarousal symptoms are clinical features common to all three conditions, note Melissa ... http://discussbipolar.com/2010/01/100/ Mental Health America is applauding legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators to establish national centers of excellence for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorders. The centers will create a national network to help diagnose people in need and improve access to evidence-based, quality care. The bill, ... http://discussbipolar.com/2009/11/mental-health-america-applauds-bipartisan-legislation-to-help-treat-depression-and-bipolar-disorders/ Current cigarette smoking is a predictor for current and 9-month suicidal ideation and behavior in bipolar disorder (BD) patients, suggest US study results.Studies have shown that BD patients are four times as likely to have nicotine dependence than the general population. Furthermore, cigarette smoking in BD individuals has been associated ... http://discussbipolar.com/2009/11/98/ Postpartum bipolar II disorder may be mistakenly diagnosed as major depressive disorder, say Canadian and US scientists who make recommendations as to how patients should be treated.Bipolar postpartum depression is commonly overlooked and mistaken for unipolar major depression. However, while bipolar I disorder is a reliable and relatively stable diagnosis, ... http://discussbipolar.com/2009/11/97/ Mutations in the dystrobrevin binding protein 1 gene (DTNBP1) are associated with bipolar disorder, say European researchers in findings that reinforce the genetic overlap between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.As there is evidence to suggest a degree of overlap in genetic susceptibility between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the DTNBP1 gene, which ... http://discussbipolar.com/2009/11/dtnbp1-gene-mutations-linked-to-bipolar-disorder/ Study results suggest that anxiety state and trait are heritable and share some genetic factors in bipolar disorder (BD), with trait anxiety showing a stair-step distribution in family members based on their genetic proximity to the affected individual."If this trait is proven to be an endophenotype, it will be of ... http://discussbipolar.com/2009/09/95/ Older bipolar disorder patients have a similar cognitive profile to that of younger patients with the disease, say Swiss scientists, who suggest that processing speed and episodic memory are two core deficits in elderly patients.Previous studies have indicated that bipolar disorder patients have impairments in processing speed, working memory, episodic ... http://discussbipolar.com/2009/09/94/ The auditory event-related P300 amplitude appears to be an endophenotype for schizophrenia, but it is also affected in bipolar disorder patients and may be a marker for psychosis in general, conclude UK researchers.Decreased P300 positive event-related potential component amplitude, which requires the detection of rare target stimuli, is associated with ... http://discussbipolar.com/2009/09/93/