The long-term impact of treatment with electroconvulsive therapy on discrete memory systems in patients with bipolar disorder.

Objective: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been controversially associated with long-lasting memory problems. Verbal learning and memory deficits are commonly reported in studies of people with bipolar disorder (BD). Whether memory deficits can be exacerbated in patients with BD who receive ECT has, to our knowledge, not been systematically examined.

Impact of comorbid anxiety disorders on outcome in a cohort of patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: High rates of comorbid anxiety disorders have been described in individuals with bipolar disorder. Although it is well recognized that anxiety disorders often co-occur with bipolar disorder, few studies have examined the impact of more than 1 anxiety disorder on long-term outcome in patients with bipolar disorder.

Method: The rates of DSM-IV generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder were determined using structured clinical interviews in 138 patients with bipolar disorder who presented consecutively between 1994 and 1999.

Subsyndromal symptoms assessed in longitudinal, prospective follow-up of a cohort of patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: Many patients with bipolar disorder (BD) do not regain full function following an acute illness episode, but the extent to which this impairment is the result of persistent symptoms has not been well established. This study examined factors associated with persistent subsyndromal symptoms in a well characterized group of BD patients who were prospectively followed for an average of 3 years.

Methods: Detailed life charting data from 138 patients with BD were reviewed.

Longitudinal outcome in patients with bipolar disorder assessed by life-charting is influenced by DSM-IV personality disorder symptoms.

Objectives: Few studies have examined the question of how personality features impact outcome in bipolar disorder (BD), though results from extant work and studies in major depressive disorder suggest that personality features are important in predicting outcome. The primary purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of DSM-IV personality disorder symptoms on long-term clinical outcome in BD.

Methods: The study used a 'life-charting' approach in which 87 BD patients were followed regularly and treated according to published guidelines.

Previous mood state predicts response and switch rates in patients with bipolar depression.

Objective: The treatment of bipolar depression is a significant clinical problem that remains understudied. The role for antidepressant (AD) agents vs. mood stabilizers has been particularly problematic to ascertain.