Can kids be bipolar–and outgrow it?

October 21, 2008

Longitudinal study documents persistence of child bipolar to adulthood

Not only does bipolar I disorder in fact affect children (despite the skeptics), those who have it are at least 13 times as likely as others to experience the disorder as adults, according to the first major prospective study of the question. The report appears in the October Archives of General Psychiatry.

The study followed 115 children enrolled since 1995. At least half are now 18.

More than 44% continued to have manic episodes as adults, and 35% had substance use disorders. Long episode duration and daily cycling were characteristic features of the syndrome in childhood and often continued after age 18.

Young age at onset and having a mother who wasn’t very warm strongly predicted quicker relapse after recovery. Maternal warmth is a known factor from previous studies of bipolar.

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Treatment of Early Age Mania study

WASH-U-KSADS

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Thinking more clearly about cognition

March 3, 2008

MATRICS project heralds new era in cognitive improvement

Newly published results of the massive MATRICS project from the NIMH are already beginning to rationalize research toward new drug treatments for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. What are the progress and prospects that result from this collaborative effort?

It won’t just be schizophrenia. The battery of 10 standard tests also have implications for future studies of cognitive impairment in affective disorders—and its relation to functional outcomes.

Clinical Trials
Clinical trials now underway are using or testing the MATRICS battery.

Practical Articles/News
Radically new drug developments are using MATRICS battery to establish effects on cognition as well as social function and other outcomes.

(One author appeals to clinicians to use these same tests to monitor the success of their treatments for schizophrenia.)

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