Bipolar disorder and age-related functional impairment

OBJECTIVE: Although bipolar disorder is a major contributor to functional impairment worldwide, an independent impact of bipolar disorder and ageing on functioning has yet to be demonstrated. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of bipolar disorder on age-related functional status using matched controls as a standard. METHOD: One-hundred patients with bipolar disorder and matched controls were evaluated for disability. Age-related effects controlled for confounders were cross-sectionally evaluated. RESULTS: Patients were significantly more impaired than controls. Regression showed effects for aging in both groups. The effect, size, however, was significantly stronger in patients. CONCLUSION: Bipolar disorder was an important effect modifier of the age impact on functioning. While a longitudinal design is needed to effectively demonstrate this different impact, this study further depicts bipolar disorder as a chronic and progressively impairing illness

A New Direction to Athletic Performance: Understanding the Acute and Longitudinal Responses to Backward Running

Backward running (BR) is a form of locomotion that occurs in short bursts during many overground field and court sports. It has also traditionally been used in clinical settings as a method to rehabilitate lower body injuries. Comparisons between BR and forward running (FR) have led to the discovery that both may be generated by the same neural circuitry. Comparisons of the acute responses to FR reveal that BR is characterised by a smaller ratio of braking to propulsive forces, increased step frequency, decreased step length, increased muscle activity and reliance on isometric and concentric muscle actions. These biomechanical differences have been critical in informing recent scientific explorations which have discovered that BR can be used as a method for reducing injury and improving a variety of physical attributes deemed advantageous to sports performance. This includes improved lower body strength and power, decreased injury prevalence and improvements in change of direction performance following BR training. The current findings from research help improve our understanding of BR biomechanics and provide evidence which supports BR as a useful method to improve athlete performance. However, further acute and longitudinal research is needed to better understand the utility of BR in athletic performance programs

Extreme attributions predict transition from depression to mania or hypomania in bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Relatively little is known about psychological predictors of the onset of mania among individuals with bipolar disorder, particularly during episodes of depression. In the present study we investigated attributional style as a predictor of onset of hypomanic, manic or mixed episodes among bipolar adults receiving psychosocial treatment for depression. We hypothesized that "extreme" (i.e., excessively pessimistic or optimistic) attributions would predict a greater likelihood of developing an episode of mood elevation. METHOD: Outpatients with DSM-IV bipolar I or II disorder (N = 105) enrolled in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD) were randomly allocated to one of three types of intensive psychotherapy for depression or a brief psychoeducational intervention. Patients completed a measure of attributional style at baseline and were followed prospectively for up to one year. All analyses were by intent to treat. RESULTS: Logistic regressions and Cox proportional hazards models indicated that extreme (both positively- and negatively-valenced) attributions predicted a higher likelihood of (and shorter time until) transition from depression to a (hypo)manic or mixed episode (ps < .04), independent of the effects of manic or depressive symptom severity at baseline. Extreme attributions were also retrospectively associated with more lifetime episodes of (hypo)mania and depression (ps < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Evaluating extreme attributions may help clinicians to identify patients who are at risk for experiencing a more severe course of bipolar illness, and who may benefit from treatments that introduce greater cognitive flexibility