Mary McShea | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

A pilot study of standardized treatment in geriatric bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to determine the feasibility of treating elderly adults with bipolar disorder under standardized-treatment conditions. METHODS: Thirty-one patients age 60 and older with bipolar disorder were treated in standardized pathways. Mood state was checked at each study visit with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-17 item (Ham-D-17) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). RESULTS: Defining "well days" as both Ham-D and YMRS scores of <or=10, the mean percentage of well days was 72.5 (range: 0%-100%) over study participation. CONCLUSIONS: Treating older adults with bipolar disorder under standardized treatment is feasible and is associated with low symptom levels. However, most older adults with bipolar disorder do not experience sustained recovery.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Cognitive functioning in late-life bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: This study characterized cognitive functioning in elderly patients with bipolar disorder. METHOD: The cognitive functioning of 18 euthymic patients with a history of bipolar disorder I or II, ages 60 years and older, was tested with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, and the Executive Interview. Cognitive functioning in these subjects was compared with that of an age- and education-matched group of 45 comparison subjects without mood disorders. RESULTS: Approximately half of the bipolar subjects scored one or more standard deviations below the mean of the comparison subjects on the MMSE (N=8, 44%) and the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale total (N=10, 56%). On the Executive Interview, three subjects (17%) scored between one and two standard deviations below the mean of the comparison subjects. CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of older bipolar subjects exhibited neuropsychological deficits when they were clinically euthymic.

Aged↗