Report Shows New Information Concerning Progression of Bipolar Disorder

Using magnetic resonance imaging, researchers were able to measure the ventral prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that regulates emotions. What they found was that in people with bipolar disorder, the changes in the brain were not significant until early adulthood and were somewhat reduced in those taking mood stabilizing medication.

Hilary Blumberg, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and director of Yale's Mood Disorders Research Program said, "The brain changes were diminished in persons with bipolar disorder who were taking mood-stabilizing medications. Research to understand bipolar disorder in youths is especially important because of their high risk for suicide."

The study could possibly shed more light on how to stop bipolar disorder from progressing, which could help researchers to better understand the disease and the ways to treat it.

However, some doctors caution against drawing conclusions from small-scale studies. "This kind of research is interesting, but preliminary, and I'd be hesitant to say anything sweeping about what we can now say about bipolar disorder based upon it," said Dr. John Grohol, a clinical psychologist. "This study doesn't help us with current diagnostic procedures or such, but does suggest future procedures which may become commonplace someday, such as an MRI for teens suspected to have bipolar disorder. It's possible that in the future, such scans could help a clinician more accurately diagnose this condition and begin a person on a course of treatment, such as medications and psychotherapy, that will help them earlier on with combating the disorder."

There has been no real cause found for bipolar disorder, however, researchers have found that there are a number of biological, genetic and environmental factors that contribute to it. It is characterized by extreme highs (manias) and lows (depressions). When the bipolar patient is manic, they may spend large amounts of money, have increased sexual behavior, abuse drugs or alcohol, refrain from sleeping, become uncharacteristically aggressive, become impulsive and indulge in potentially risky behaviors. When the patient is depressed, they tend to withdraw, stay in bed for long periods, eat less, have feelings of guilt, worthlessness and/or helplessness and in the most severe cases, commit suicide.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are more than 2 million people in this country alone with bipolar disorder, which equals about one percent of the population aged 18 and older. The disease over develops in the late years of adolescence or in early adulthood. Most people suffer for many years before they are properly diagnosed with the disease and often require long-term treatment to properly manage the disease.

The Yale research team included: John Krystal, M.D., Ravi Bansal, Andrés Martin, M.D., James Dziura, Kathleen Durkin, Laura Martin, Elizabeth Gerard, M.D., Dennis Charney, M.D., and Bradley Peterson, M.D.