Comparison of diagnostic guidelines for juvenile bipolar disorder

The purpose of the present paper was to compare currently available diagnostic guidelines for juvenile bipolar disorder with respect to utility in research and clinical practice. A systematic search of psychiatric, medical and psychological databases was conducted using the terms 'juvenile bipolar disorder', 'paediatric bipolar disorder' and 'guidelines'. Three main sets of guidelines issued by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (UK), The National Institute of Mental Health (USA) and Child Psychiatric Workshop (USA) were found. There were key differences in the recommendations made by each regarding the diagnosis and symptomatic presentation of juvenile bipolar disorder. Although the diagnosis of juvenile bipolar disorder is gaining increased recognition, its definition remains controversial. It is recommended that clinicians and researchers need to develop diagnostic guidelines that have clinical salience and can be used for future research by incorporating key features of those that are currently available

A Hitchhikers Guide to Guidelines: Diagnosing Juvenile Bipolar Disorder

Background and aims: To compare currently available guidelines for the diagnosis and clinical presentation of Juvenile Bipolar Disorder. Method: Psychiatric, medical and psychological databases were searched with the terms 'juvenile bipolar disorder', 'paediatric bipolar disorder' 'diagnosis' and 'guidelines'. Results: Although there are a range of guidelines for adult bipolar disorder four were found relating to juvenile forms of bipolar. These were issued by; The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (UK), The National Institute of Mental Health (USA), The Child Psychiatric Workshop (USA) and a practice parameter issued by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. There were differences in the recommendations made by each regarding the diagnosis and symptomatic presentation of juvenile bipolar disorder. Conclusions: Although the diagnosis of Juvenile Bipolar Disorder is gaining increased recognition its definition remains controversial. We recommend clinicians and researchers incorporate the strongest features of each of the guidelines we reviewed

Emerging ethical issues in neuroscience

There is growing public awareness of the ethical issues raised by progress in many areas of neuroscience. This commentary reviews the issues, which are triaged in terms of their novelty and their imminence, with an exploration of the relevant ethical principles in each case