Bipolar disorder

Abstract

Bipolar disorder is a recurrent chronic disorder characterised by fluctuations in mood state and energy. It affects more than 1% of the world's population irrespective of nationality, ethnic origin, or socioeconomic status. Bipolar disorder is one of the main causes of disability among young people, leading to cognitive and functional impairment and raised mortality, particularly death by suicide. A high prevalence of psychiatric and medical comorbidities is typical in affected individuals. Accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder is difficult in clinical practice because onset is most commonly a depressive episode and looks similar to unipolar depression. Moreover, there are currently no valid biomarkers for the disorder. Therefore, the role of clinical assessment remains key. Detection of hypomanic periods and longitudinal assessment are crucial to differentiate bipolar disorder from other conditions. Current knowledge of the evolving pharmacological and psychological strategies in bipolar disorder is of utmost importance.

Role of Protein Kinase C in Bipolar Disorder: A Review of the Current Literature

“…Additional features frequently associated with BD are impairment in emotion perception, affect regulation, attention, and executive functioning [2]. These impairments also correlate with structural and functional abnormalities in frontolimbic brain regions, such as prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and amygdala, that regulate emotion, memory, and motivated behavior [3]. Despite its heavy toll on human lives, the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of BD remain elusive.…”

Further Evidence of an Association between <b><i>NCAN</i></b> rs1064395 and Bipolar Disorder

“…Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a severe mental illness with a lifetime prevalence of up to 1.6% [1, 2]. Previous studies showed that the child of an affected parent has about a ten-fold increased risk of developing BPD, and twin studies of this illness has revealed an estimated heritability of 0.7–0.8 [3, 4].…”

Activation Levels, Cardiovascular Risk, and Functional Impairment in Remitted Bipolar Patients: Clinical Relevance of a Dimensional Approach

“…Bipolar disorder (BD) patients frequently present chronic mood instability likely associated with functioning impairment and suicidal behavior [1]. However, the current classification systems assign primacy to mood and use symptom-based categorical approaches, which, as a result, often lack sensitivity to detect subtle behavioral changes in BD patients, particularly during the remission phase [2].…”