Impact of birth weight and genetic liability on psychopathology in children of bipolar parents.

Objective: To test different models for ways in which birth weight and familial loading influence the risk for psychopathology in bipolar offspring.

Method: DSM-IV diagnoses of 140 bipolar offspring (12-21 years of age) were assessed with the K-SADS-PL. Parents were interviewed using the Family History-Research Diagnostic Criteria to determine familial loading of mood and substance use disorders.

Long-term follow-up of persisting mixed chimerism after partially T cell-depleted allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Using red cell phenotyping (RCP) and/or cytogenetics (CYT) we identified 19 patients with persisting mixed chimerism (MC) among 231 patients transplanted with partially T cell-depleted stem cell grafts from HLA-identical siblings. Persisting MC is defined as MC for more than 2 years in patients without any evidence of relapse. Median leukemia-free survival in these patients was 150 (range, 50-218) months.

Prevalence of psychopathology in children of a bipolar parent.

Objective: To determine psychopathology in adolescent children of a bipolar parent living in the Netherlands, using multiple sources of information (self-, parent, and teacher reports).

Method: Problem behavior in 140 offspring (aged 12-21 years) of 86 bipolar parents was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Teacher's Report Form (TRF), and the Youth Self-Report (YSR) between 1997 and 1999. All adolescents, bipolar parents, and their available spouses were interviewed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL).

Prevalence of psychopathology in children of bipolar parents.

The purpose of this study was to determine psychopathology in a large sample of adolescent children (N = 140) of parents (N = 86) with bipolar disorders, using multiple sources of information (child, parent, teacher). The main aims of the study were: 1) to compare parent, teacher and self reported problem behavior ratings of children of bipolar parents with those of children from the general population, and 2) to determine the prevalence of DSM-IV diagnoses in offspring of bipolar parents, and 3) to examine the possible association between gender of the bipolar parent and psychopathology among the offspring.

Bipolar disorder in children and adolecents: a clinical reality?

The appearance, the differential diagnosis and the prevalence of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents is discussed. Among adolescents bipolar disorder appears to have a similar prevalence in the US and The Netherlands. However, among children it is frequently diagnosed in the US and hardly in The Netherlands.

Immunological aspects of bipolar disorder.

Introduction: Significant changes in immune function have been found in mood disorders. Controlled studies in bipolar disorder concerning cell-mediated immunity and thyroid autoimmunity are reviewed, and presented together with preliminary findings from our own ongoing study.

Method: Using Medline and other sources, 14 controlled studies as well as some other relevant studies were found.

Outcome of cataract surgery by a general medical doctor at district level, Zimbabwe: a retrospective follow-up study.

From January 1990 until October 1992, 103 Zimbabwean patients underwent intracapsular cataract extraction by a general medical doctor. Of the first 100 patients operated upon, 50 were traced of which 37 could be assessed adequately. Operative complications and visual acuities after three months show that this is an effective means of restoring sight, but that a longer period of training of a general medical doctor than one month is adviseable.