EVALUATION OF BRUXISM AND ITS RELATION WITH TREATMENT REGIMENS AMONG REMITTED BIPOLAR PATIENTS

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of bruxism and treatment regimens among remitted bipolar patients. Subjects and methods: The total case group included 222 adult patients with BD. Diagnosis of bruxism was based upon the on ‘self-reports’ plus the outcome from the clinical examinations. Results: The sample consisted of 112 (50.5%) bipolar patients with bruxism and 110 (49.5%) without bruxism. Remitted bipolar patients who were on mood stabilizer plus atypical antipsychotic treatment had lower bruxism rates than patients on other than bipolar patients on mood stabilizer treatment regimen (p=0.04) and bipolar patients on polypharmacy (p=0.01). Conclusion: Our findings have supported the existence of psychotropic drug-bruxism relation and atypical antipsychotic related therapeutic effect among bipolar patients

Clinical, Biological and Genetic Predictors of Lithium Treatment Response

Lithium was discovered by the Swedish Arfvedson at the beginning of the 1800s and began to be used in psychiatry for the past 1950s. Lithium, as a mood stabilizer, is the gold standard and first choice treatment agent for the treatment of bipolar disorders in adults. However, it is mostly difficult in clinical practice to predict which patient would respond to the treatment with lithium well due to the huge variation in patients’ characteristics. Clinicians seem to focus primarily on identifying a clinical phenotype to foresee lithium treatment response. In this article, researches on predictors of the lithium treatment response were reviewed and evaluated in four titles as clinical, biochemical, neuroimaging and genetic predictors

Variations in seasonal solar insolation are associated with a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder

Background Bipolar disorder is associated with circadian disruption and a high risk of suicidal behavior. In a previous exploratory study of patients with bipolar I disorder, we found that a history of suicide attempts was associated with differences between winter and summer levels of solar insolation. The purpose of this study was to confirm this finding using international data from 42% more collection sites and 25% more countries. Methods Data analyzed were from 71 prior and new collection sites in 40 countries at a wide range of latitudes. The analysis included 4876 patients with bipolar I disorder, 45% more data than previously analyzed. Of the patients, 1496 (30.7%) had a history of suicide attempt. Solar insolation data, the amount of the sun's electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, was obtained for each onset location (479 locations in 64 countries). Results This analysis confirmed the results of the exploratory study with the same best model and slightly better statistical significance. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempts and the ratio of mean winter insolation to mean summer insolation (mean winter insolation/mean summer insolation). This ratio is largest near the equator which has little change in solar insolation over the year, and smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. Other variables in the model associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts were a history of alcohol or substance abuse, female gender, and younger birth cohort. The winter/summer insolation ratio was also replaced with the ratio of minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation to accommodate insolation patterns in the tropics, and nearly identical results were found. All estimated coefficients were significant at p < 0.01. Conclusion A large change in solar insolation, both between winter and summer and between the minimum and maximum monthly values, may increase the risk of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. With frequent circadian rhythm dysfunction and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder, greater understanding of the optimal roles of daylight and electric lighting in circadian entrainment is needed.Peer reviewe

Bipolar symptoms, somatic burden and functioning in older-age bipolar disorder: A replication study from the global aging & geriatric experiments in bipolar disorder database (GAGE-BD) project

Objectives: The Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder Database (GAGE-BD) project pools archival datasets on older age bipolar disorder (OABD). An initial Wave 1 (W1; n = 1369) analysis found both manic and depressive symptoms reduced among older patients. To replicate this finding, we gathered an independent Wave 2 (W2; n = 1232, mean ± standard deviation age 47.2 ± 13.5, 65% women, 49% aged over 50) dataset. Design/Methods: Using mixed models with random effects for cohort, we examined associations between BD symptoms, somatic burden and age and the contribution of these to functioning in W2 and the combined W1 + W2 sample (n = 2601). Results: Compared to W1, the W2 sample was younger (p < 0.001), less educated (p < 0.001), more symptomatic (p < 0.001), lower functioning (p < 0.001) and had fewer somatic conditions (p < 0.001). In the full W2, older individuals had reduced manic symptom severity, but age was not associated with depression severity. Age was not associated with functioning in W2. More severe BD symptoms (mania p ≤ 0.001, depression p ≤ 0.001) were associated with worse functioning. Older age was significantly associated with higher somatic burden in the W2 and the W1 + W2 samples, but this burden was not associated with poorer functioning. Conclusions: In a large, independent sample, older age was associated with less severe mania and more somatic burden (consistent with previous findings), but there was no association of depression with age (different from previous findings). Similar to previous findings, worse BD symptom severity was associated with worse functioning, emphasizing the need for symptom relief in OABD to promote better functioning

Reconstructing the diagnostic framework of bipolarity

Diagnostic classification of chronic psychiatric disorders is a significant challenge for psychiatry. Current diagnostic manuals separately define each disorder in different categories depending on the core symptoms of the disease. However, convincing body of evidence indicates that there is a continuum between mood and psychotic disorders, prototypically bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. From this background the diagnostic classification of chronic psychiatric conditions has been revisited at different levels. First, overlapping symptoms and the continuum between mood and psychotic disorders were explored. Secondly, neurobiological mechanisms, including degeneration and inflammation - considering bipolar disorder as a systemic disease - have been investigated. Finally, the findings in each chapter are discussed and a hybrid classification model is proposed

Oral Health in Psychiatric Patients

Although oral health is a major determinant of general health and quality of life, it has a low priority in the context of mental illness. Chronic mental illness and its treatment carry inherent risks for significant oral diseases. Both the disease itself and its various pharmacologic management modalities lead to a range of oral complications and side effects, with caries, periodontal disease and xerostomia being encountered most frequently. Older age, female gender, length of hospitalization, duration of mental illness, psychiatric diagnosis are the most discussed predictors for adverse dental outcomes in the reviewed studies. Poor oral hygiene, higher intake of carbonates, smoking, poor perception of oral health self-needs, length of psychiatric disorder, length of psychotropic treatment, and less access to dental care pose at high risk for poor oral health among this population. This article emphasizes the importance of preventive dentistry programs to improve dental healthcare psychiatric chronic inpatients and the signifance of bridging dental health education to psychiatric rehabilitation programs. In this review, general information concerning the oral manifestations of mental illness, effect of medication of mental illness on oral health, the factors affecting oral health among this special population have been provided

AFFECTIVE TEMPERAMENT AND SEASONALITY IN BIPOLAR DISORDER

Background: Both affective temperaments and seasonality impact on the illness course in bipolar disorder (BD). This exploratory study aims to investigate the link between seasonality and affective temperament in BD. Subjects and methods: Sixty-six euthymic patients with BD-I were recruited. The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) and Temperament Evaluation Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire version scale (TEMPS-A) were applied. Results: The seasonal BD rate was 39.4% (n=26). Depressive and anxious temperament scores were higher in patients with seasonality. The SPAQ total scores were also associated with depressive, cyclothymic, and anxious affective temperament scores. Conclusion: Our findings warrant further investigation to understanding the complex interaction between seasonality, mood regulation, and temperament collectively moderating illness course in BD. This study implies that affective temperament may have some value in discerning the link between seasonality and illness course in BD

Metabolic syndrome prevalence in different affective temperament profiles in bipolar-I disorder

Objective: Temperament originates in the brain structure, and individual differences are attributable to neural and physiological function differences. It has been suggested that temperament is associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) markers, which may be partly mediated by lifestyle and socioeconomic status. Therefore, we aim to compare MetS prevalence between different affective temperamental profiles for each season in bipolar patients. Methods: Twenty-six bipolar type-I patients of a specialized outpatient mood disorder unit were evaluated for MetS according to new definition proposed by the International Diabetes Federation in the four seasons of a year. Temperament was assessed using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego - autoquestionnaire version (TEMPS-A). Results: The proportions of MetS were 19.2, 23.1, 34.6, and 38.5% in the summer, fall, spring, and winter, respectively. Only depressive temperament scores were higher (p = 0.002) during the winter in patients with MetS. Conclusion: These data suggest that depressive temperament profiles may predispose an individual to the development of MetS in the winter