Bipolar disorders are extremely difficult for psychiatrists to diagnose. However, Canadian researchers are working to develop a test that would allow them to identify patients in less than an hour.
Bipolar disorders are part of mood disorders in the same way as recurrent depression. In its most typical form, the disease, classified as the sixth cause of disability by the World Health Organization, has two phases: the manic phase (the subject is hyperactive and euphoric) and the depressive phase (the subject is slowed down and n tastes like nothing). “In France, bipolar disorders are underdiagnosed. It takes an average of 10 to 12 years and four to five different doctors before they are appointed,” according to the site. bipolar-disorders.com. Similarly, it is estimated that 40% of depressives are actually bipolar who ignore themselves. Because at present, the psychiatrist has no neutral examination to identify these disorders, whether by imaging or biological sampling. A study published this year in the journal World Journal of Biological Psychiatry could soon change the situation. Indeed, Canadian researchers are currently working to develop a test to try to diagnose the disease in less than an hour and identify the patients most at risk. If validated, this examination would allow a much better care of patients.
An area involved in the onset of vertigo
Dr. Brian Lithgow of the University of Manitoba (Canada) and his colleagues were exploring balance disorders in Parkinson’s patients when they discovered by chance that nerve activity in the vestibular system, an area involved in the he appearance of vertigo in people with this affliction is very different when they also suffer from bipolarity or depression. This region is also considered a window to explore mental disorders because it is tightly connected to many areas of the brain.
The researchers therefore continued their research with 43 people with bipolar disorder, 39 with depression and 27 healthy volunteers. They then realized that the nervous activity of the vestibular system was very different depending on whether the person was bipolar, depressed or healthy.
A test to be used in addition to a psychiatric analysis
Thus, scientists would like to try to use this data to define diagnostic criteria to identify patients suffering from bipolar disorder or depression.
“We would like to commercialize this process if possible,” explains Brian Lithgow, lead author of the study, in a University of Manitoba press release. However, further research is needed to validate these results. “If we can find a local psychiatrist willing to collaborate, we would like to seek out 300 volunteers who have been diagnosed with major depression or bipolar disorder to participate in another double-blind study,” he adds. A larger-scale study would, if it confirms the current results, obtain the approval of the health authorities.
This test will not be intended to replace a traditional psychiatric evaluation, assure the researchers. But it could be used in parallel. “The role of the psychiatrist remains extremely important in the care of the patient, but I think this tool would be very useful as a complement”, notes Lithgow.
The latter is not the only one to have observed a link between bipolarity and Parkinson’s disease. In May, a Chinese study published in the journal neurology observed a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s in people with bipolar disorder. Thus, patients hospitalized more than twice a year for their bipolar disorder are six times more likely to develop Parkinson’s than those hospitalized less than once a year.
“The consequences of a delay in diagnosis are severe”
A month ago, Dutch researchers discovered that the brains of bipolar or schizophrenic people was different from the others. They observed that relatives of patients with bipolar disorders had larger intercranial volumes, while relatives of schizophrenics had smaller brain volumes compared to participants from families without a history of mental disorders. Thus, “this may imply that the neuro-developmental trajectories leading to cerebral abnormalities in schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are distinct”, note the researchers who would like, in the long term, to be able to use this approach to avoid the onset of mental disorders.
These studies bring their hope, necessary we know that, according to the High Authority of Health (HAS), the misdiagnosis rate for bipolar disorders is between 30 and 69% in Europe and the United States. Eight years can pass between the manifestation of the first symptom and a correct diagnosis with accompanying mood-regulating drugs. A drama when we know that “the consequences of a delay in diagnosis are severe”. Indeed, “late recognition of bipolar disorder promotes the risks associated with the disease such as suicide, hospitalizations, disastrous socio-economic consequences (loss of work, financial difficulties), or medical comorbidities”, explains the author. health authority.
.