Development and validation of the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale - Brazilian version.

Objective:: This article aims to describe the adaptation and translation process of the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS) and its reduced version, the Bush-Francis Catatonia Screening Instrument (BFCSI) for Brazilian Portuguese, as well as its validation.

Methods:: Semantic equivalence processes included four steps: translation, back translation, evaluation of semantic equivalence and a pilot-study. Validation consisted of simultaneous applications of the instrument in Portuguese by two examiners in 30 catatonic and 30 non-catatonic patients.

Performance of Bipolar Disorder Patients in Attention Testing: Comparison with Normal Controls and Among Manic, Depressive, and Euthymic Phases.

Several studies on cognition in bipolar disorder (BD) have been developed on the last decade. Neuropsychological evaluation of attention in BD patients is fundamental since alterations in attention affect other cognitive functions. Evaluate if performance of BD patients in attention tests varies according to each phase of the disease and verify if there are differences in attention when comparing BD patients with normal controls.

Insight in bipolar disorder: a comparison between mania, depression and euthymia using the Insight Scale for Affective Disorders.

Objective: To evaluate whether having general insight into bipolar disorder and its symptoms is affected by the mood state of the patient, using the Insight Scale for Affective Disorders, a hetero-application scale for people with mood disorders.

Methods: Ninety-five patients with bipolar disorder were evaluated and divided into different groups according to the mood state presented during assessment (i.e.

The reliability of self-assessment of affective state in different phases of bipolar disorder.

Some studies have indicated that the capacity of self-assessment of affective state is more compromised during mania than during depression. In the present study, we investigated whether the reliability of self-assessment in bipolar disorder varies as a function of actual affective state (i.e.

The progression of 102 Brazilian patients with bipolar disorder: outcome of first 12 months of prospective follow-up.

Introduction: Prospective studies have shown that the course of bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by the persistence of symptoms, predominantly depression, along most of the time. However, to our knowledge, no studies in Latin America have investigated it.

Objectives: To replicate international studies using a Brazilian sample to prospectively analyze treatment outcomes in the first year and to determine potential chronicity factors.

Increased energy/activity, not mood changes, is the core feature of mania.

Background: In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, the occurrence of increased energy/activity and elation of mood or irritability became necessary symptoms for the diagnosis of an episode of mania or hypomania.

Objective: To evaluate whether increases in energy/activity or mood changes represent the core feature of the manic syndrome.

Methods: The symptomatology of 117 hospitalized patients with bipolar mania was evaluated using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Changed version (SADS-C).

Mood self-assessment in bipolar disorder: a comparison between patients in mania, depression, and euthymia.

Background: Some studies indicate that mood self-assessment is more severely impaired in patients with bipolar disorder in a manic episode than in depression.

Objectives: To investigate variations in mood self-assessment in relation to current affective state in a group of individuals with bipolar disorder.

Methods: A total of 165 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder type I or type II had their affective state assessed using the Clinical Global Impressions Scale for use in bipolar illness (CGI-BP), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF).