Our preliminary findings suggest that combining bupropion with mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics may be a good therapeutic option in short-term treatment of depressed BD-I patients with comorbid CDD.

We studied 40 patients with myotonic dystrophy (MD) to investigate whether saccadic eye movement (SEM) abnormalities have a central or peripheral origin. SEMs were recorded by electrooculography and analyzed by a computer system. Six patients were followed up to 2-7 years. Slow SEMs were present in 70% of patients, while saccadic latency and accuracy were within normal ranges. Peak saccadic velocity (PSV) did not correlate with disease duration and muscular disability, and showed a significant reduction only in 1 patient during the follow-up. Muscular disability correlated significantly with age and disease duration and worsened in 4 patients over time. The doll's head maneuver elicited vestibular compensatory eye movements with high velocities. These findings suggest that the extraocular muscles are at least partially spared in MD and that supranuclear structures, most likely the burst cells in brainstem reticular formation, may contribute to the slowing of SEMs.

In our study, SE intensity was not influenced by the use of cannabis. With regard to familial data, this is the first study to explore the relationship between SE and the presence of psychiatric problems in first-degree relatives. The association between FCQ intensity and psychiatric familial load may confirm the independence of these phenomena from the use of cannabis.

In agreement with other authors our data suggest a state of hypercoagulability in BIH associated with gene polymorphisms. Our findings also showed that mutations in cardiovascular genes significantly discriminate subjects with a BIH history. The association between coagulation and gene derangements, usually regarded to as cryptogenic, may suggest a possible pathogenetic mechanism in BIH. So, a prothrombotic tendency may exist that would, at least in part, explain some cases of BIH. Although based on a small population, these findings raise the exciting possibility of using these haemostatic factors as markers for selecting high-risk subjects in BIH disease.