Bipolar Affective Disorder Differential Diagnoses

  • Author: Stephen Soreff, MD; Chief Editor: Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK)   more...
 
Updated: Apr 17, 2012
 
 

Diagnostic Considerations

Other conditions to be considered include the following:

  • Cancer
  • Epilepsy
  • Fahr disease
  • AIDS
  • Medications (eg, antidepressants can propel a patient into mania; other medications may include baclofen, bromide, bromocriptine, captopril, cimetidine, corticosteroids, cyclosporine, disulfiram, hydralazine, isoniazid, levodopa, methylphenidate, metrizamide, procarbazine, procyclidine)
  • Circadian rhythm desynchronization
  • Cyclothymic disorder
  • Multiple personality disorder
  • Oppositional defiant disorder (in children)
  • Substance abuse disorders (eg, with alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, hallucinogens, opiates)

Differential Diagnoses

Proceed to Workup
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Stephen Soreff, MD  President of Education Initiatives, Nottingham, NH; Faculty, Metropolitan College of Boston University, Boston, MA

Stephen Soreff, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Mental Health Administration and American Psychosomatic Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Lynne Alison McInnes, MD, MS  Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine; Associate Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Department of Psychiatry and Human Genetics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Lynne Alison McInnes, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Psychiatric Association, and American Society of Human Genetics

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK)  Faculty, Department of Psychiatry, Tripler Army Medical Center; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences: Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Hawaii, John A Burns School of Medicine

Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK) is a member of the following medical societies: Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, American Neuropsychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, and Royal College of Psychiatrists

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

References
  1. Bowden C, Singh V. Long-term Management of Bipolar Disorder. Available at http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/2686. Accessed Dec 31, 2003.

  2. Baum AE, Akula N, Cabanero M, Cardona I, Corona W, Klemens B, et al. A genome-wide association study implicates diacylglycerol kinase eta (DGKH) and several other genes in the etiology of bipolar disorder. Mol Psychiatry. Feb 2008;13(2):197-207. [Medline]. [Full Text].

  3. Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. Genome-wide association study of 14,000 cases of seven common diseases and 3,000 shared controls. Nature. Jun 7 2007;447(7145):661-78. [Medline]. [Full Text].

  4. Sklar P, Smoller JW, Fan J, Ferreira MA, Perlis RH, Chambert K, et al. Whole-genome association study of bipolar disorder. Mol Psychiatry. Jun 2008;13(6):558-69. [Medline].

  5. Ferreira MA, O'Donovan MC, et al. Collaborative genome-wide association analysis supports a role for ANK3 and CACNA1C in bipolar disorder. Nat Genet. Sep 2008;40(9):1056-8. [Medline]. [Full Text].

  6. McQuillin A, Rizig M, Gurling HM. A microarray gene expression study of the molecular pharmacology of lithium carbonate on mouse brain mRNA to understand the neurobiology of mood stabilization and treatment of bipolar affective disorder. Pharmacogenet Genomics. Aug 2007;17(8):605-17. [Medline].

  7. Sklar P, Ripke S, Scott LJ, et al. Large-scale genome-wide association analysis of bipolar disorder identifies a new susceptibility locus near ODZ4. Nat Genet. Sep 18 2011;43(10):977-83. [Medline].

  8. NIH News. Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Share Genetic Roots. National Institutes of Health. Available at http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jul2009/nimh-01.htm. Accessed August 26, 2009.

  9. Post RM, Speer AM, Hough CJ, Xing G. Neurobiology of bipolar illness: implications for future study and therapeutics. Ann Clin Psychiatry. Jun 2003;15(2):85-94. [Medline].

  10. Roybal K, Theobold D, Graham A, DiNieri JA, Russo SJ, Krishnan V, et al. Mania-like behavior induced by disruption of CLOCK. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Apr 10 2007;104(15):6406-11. [Medline]. [Full Text].

  11. Bearden CE, Freimer NB. Endophenotypes for psychiatric disorders: ready for primetime?. Trends Genet. Jun 2006;22(6):306-13. [Medline].

  12. American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2010 Annual Meeting Abstracts. December 5-9, 2010; Miami Beach, Florida.

  13. Aston C, Jiang L, Sokolov BP. Transcriptional profiling reveals evidence for signaling and oligodendroglial abnormalities in the temporal cortex from patients with major depressive disorder. Mol Psychiatry. Mar 2005;10(3):309-22. [Medline].

  14. Davis KL, Haroutunian V. Global expression-profiling studies and oligodendrocyte dysfunction in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Lancet. Sep 6 2003;362(9386):758. [Medline].

  15. Prabakaran S, Swatton JE, Ryan MM, et al. Mitochondrial dysfunction in schizophrenia: evidence for compromised brain metabolism and oxidative stress. Mol Psychiatry. Jul 2004;9(7):684-97, 643. [Medline].

  16. Tkachev D, Mimmack ML, Ryan MM, et al. Oligodendrocyte dysfunction in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Lancet. Sep 6 2003;362(9386):798-805. [Medline].

  17. Adler CM, Holland SK, Schmithorst V, Wilke M, Weiss KL, Pan H, et al. Abnormal frontal white matter tracts in bipolar disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Bipolar Disord. Jun 2004;6(3):197-203. [Medline].

  18. Adler CM, Adams J, DelBello MP, et al. Evidence of white matter pathology in bipolar disorder adolescents experiencing their first episode of mania: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Am J Psychiatry. Feb 2006;163(2):322-4. [Medline].

  19. Houenou J, Frommberger J, Carde S, et al. Neuroimaging-based markers of bipolar disorder: Evidence from two meta-analyses. J Affect Disord. Aug 2011;132(3):344-55. [Medline].

  20. Chen G, Zeng WZ, Yuan PX, et al. The mood-stabilizing agents lithium and valproate robustly increase the levels of the neuroprotective protein bcl-2 in the CNS. J Neurochem. Feb 1999;72(2):879-82. [Medline].

  21. Konradi C, Zimmerman EI, Yang CK, Lohmann KM, Gresch P, Pantazopoulos H, et al. Hippocampal interneurons in bipolar disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. Apr 2011;68(4):340-50. [Medline].

  22. Mathew SJ, Manji HK, Charney DS. Novel drugs and therapeutic targets for severe mood disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology. Aug 2008;33(9):2300. [Medline].

  23. The HUGE Project; Research Program on Genes, Environment, and Health. Multi-Ethnic Genome Wide Association Study of Bipolar Disorder. Kaiser Permanente. Available at http://www.dor.kaiser.org/external/DORExternal/rpgeh/collaboration.aspx?ekmensel=194f64c3_47_52_btnlink). Accessed December, 2011.

  24. Cardno AG, Rijsdijk FV, Sham PC, Murray RM, McGuffin P. A twin study of genetic relationships between psychotic symptoms. Am J Psychiatry. Apr 2002;159(4):539-45. [Medline].

  25. Berrettini WH. Are schizophrenic and bipolar disorders related? A review of family and molecular studies. Biol Psychiatry. Sep 15 2000;48(6):531-8. [Medline].

  26. Hashimoto K, Sawa A, Iyo M. Increased levels of glutamate in brains from patients with mood disorders. Biol Psychiatry. Dec 1 2007;62(11):1310-6. [Medline].

  27. Lepping P, Menkes DB. Abuse of dosulepin to induce mania. Addiction. Jul 2007;102(7):1166-7. [Medline].

  28. Barnett JH, Huang J, Perlis RH, et al. Personality and bipolar disorder: dissecting state and trait associations between mood and personality. Psychol Med. Aug 2011;41(8):1593-604. [Medline].

  29. Chaudron LH, Pies RW. The relationship between postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder: a review. J Clin Psychiatry. Nov 2003;64(11):1284-92. [Medline].

  30. Calabrese JR. Overview of patient care issues and treatment in bipolar spectrum and bipolar II disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. Jun 2008;69(6):e18. [Medline].

  31. Merikangas KR, Jin R, He J-P, et al. Prevalence and correlates of bipolar spectrum disorder in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011;68(3):241-251.

  32. Hoang U, Stewart R, Goldacre MJ. Mortality after hospital discharge for people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: retrospective study of linked English hospital episode statistics, 1999-2006. BMJ. Sep 13 2011;343:d5422. [Medline].

  33. Dogan S, Sabanciogullari S. The effects of patient education in lithium therapy on quality of life and compliance. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. Dec 2003;17(6):270-5. [Medline].

  34. National Institute of Mental Health. A story of bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness). Available at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bipolstory03.cfm. Accessed Dec 30, 2003.

  35. Webb M. The Years of Silence Are Past: My Father's Life With Bipolar Disorder. Am J Psychiatry. Dec 1 2003;160(12):2257.

  36. Journal of Affective Disorders. Misdiagnosing bipolar disorder - Do clinicians show heuristic biases?. May 2011;130(3):405-12. [Medline].

  37. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC: 2000.

  38. Frye MA. Diagnostic dilemmas and clinical correlates of mixed states in bipolar disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. May 2008;69(5):e13. [Medline].

  39. Fagiolini A. Medical monitoring in patients with bipolar disorder: a review of data. J Clin Psychiatry. Jun 2008;69(6):e16. [Medline].

  40. Keck PE Jr. Evaluating Treatment Decisions in Bipolar Depression. Available at http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/2571. Accessed Dec 30, 2003.

  41. Hong CJ, Huo SJ, Yen FC, Tung CL, Pan GM, Tsai SJ. Association study of a brain-derived neurotrophic-factor genetic polymorphism and mood disorders, age of onset and suicidal behavior. Neuropsychobiology. 2003;48(4):186-9. [Medline].

  42. Ilgen MA, Bohnert AS, Ignacio RV, McCarthy JF, Valenstein MM, Kim HM, et al. Psychiatric diagnoses and risk of suicide in veterans. Arch Gen Psychiatry. Nov 2010;67(11):1152-8. [Medline].

  43. Bellivier F, Yon L, Luquiens A, et al. Suicidal attempts in bipolar disorder: results from an observational study (EMBLEM). Bipolar Disord. Jun 2011;13(4):377-386. [Medline].

  44. Fazel S, Lichtenstein P, Grann M, Goodwin GM, Långström N. Bipolar disorder and violent crime: new evidence from population-based longitudinal studies and systematic review. Arch Gen Psychiatry. Sep 2010;67(9):931-8. [Medline].

  45. Saarni SI, Viertiö S, Perälä J, Koskinen S, Lönnqvist J, Suvisaari J. Quality of life of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other psychotic disorders. Br J Psychiatry. Nov 2010;197:386-94. [Medline].

  46. Fiedorowicz JG, Endicott J, Leon AC, Solomon DA, Keller MB, Coryell WH. Subthreshold hypomanic symptoms in progression from unipolar major depression to bipolar disorder. Am J Psychiatry. Jan 2011;168(1):40-8. [Medline]. [Full Text].

  47. Leibenluft E. Severe mood dysregulation, irritability, and the diagnostic boundaries of bipolar disorder in youths. Am J Psychiatry. Feb 2011;168(2):129-42. [Medline].

  48. Tohen M, Zarate CA Jr, Hennen J, Khalsa HM, Strakowski SM, Gebre-Medhin P, et al. The McLean-Harvard First-Episode Mania Study: prediction of recovery and first recurrence. Am J Psychiatry. Dec 2003;160(12):2099-107. [Medline].

  49. McIntyre RS, Soczynska JK, Beyer JL, Woldeyohannes HO, Law CW, Miranda A, et al. Medical comorbidity in bipolar disorder: re-prioritizing unmet needs. Curr Opin Psychiatry. Jul 2007;20(4):406-16. [Medline].

  50. Bradford DW, Kim MM, Braxton LE, Marx CE, Butterfield M, Elbogen EB. Access to medical care among persons with psychotic and major affective disorders. Psychiatr Serv. Aug 2008;59(8):847-52. [Medline].

  51. Bauer M, Alda M, Priller J, Young LT. Implications of the neuroprotective effects of lithium for the treatment of bipolar and neurodegenerative disorders. Pharmacopsychiatry. Nov 2003;36 Suppl 3:S250-4. [Medline].

  52. McKnight RF, Adida M, Budge K, Stockton S, Goodwin GM, Geddes JR. Lithium toxicity profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. Feb 25 2012;379(9817):721-8. [Medline].

  53. Ansari A, Osser DN. The psychopharmacology algorithm project at the Harvard South Shore Program: an update on bipolar depression. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2010;18(1):36-55. [Medline].

  54. Diazgranados N, Ibrahim L, Brutsche NE, Newberg A, Kronstein P, Khalife S, et al. A randomized add-on trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist in treatment-resistant bipolar depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. Aug 2010;67(8):793-802. [Medline]. [Full Text].

  55. Sidor MM, Macqueen GM. Antidepressants for the acute treatment of bipolar depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Psychiatry. Feb 2011;72(2):156-67. [Medline].

  56. Kessing LV, Hellmund G, Geddes JR, Goodwin GM, Andersen PK. Valproate v. lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorder in clinical practice: observational nationwide register-based cohort study. Br J Psychiatry. Jul 2011;199:57-63. [Medline].

  57. Geddes JR, Goodwin GM, Rendell J, et al. Lithium plus valproate combination therapy versus monotherapy for relapse prevention in bipolar I disorder (BALANCE): a randomised open-label trial. Lancet. Jan 30 2010;375(9712):385-95. [Medline].

  58. Smith LA, Cornelius V, Warnock A, Bell A, Young AH. Effectiveness of mood stabilizers and antipsychotics in the maintenance phase of bipolar disorder: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Bipolar Disord. Jun 2007;9(4):394-412. [Medline].

  59. Cipriani A, Barbui C, Salanti G, et al. Comparative efficacy and acceptability of antimanic drugs in acute mania: a multiple-treatments meta-analysis. Lancet. Aug 16 2011;[Medline].

  60. Swartz HA, Thase ME. Pharmacotherapy for the treatment of acute bipolar II depression: current evidence. J Clin Psychiatry. Mar 2011;72(3):356-66. [Medline].

  61. Hirschfeld RMA (Chair); Work Group on Bipolar Disorder. Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients With Bipolar Disorder, Second Edition. Review and Synthesis of Available Evidence. Somatic Treatments of Acute Manic and Mixed Episodes. American Psychiatric Association. Available at http://www.psychiatryonline.com/pracGuide/PracticePDFs/Bipolar2e_Inactivated_04-16-09.pdf accessed 4/14/2011. Accessed April 14, 2011.

  62. Hamrin V, Iennaco JD. Psychopharmacology of pediatric bipolar disorder. Expert Rev Neurother. Jul 2010;10(7):1053-88. [Medline].

  63. Gutman DA, Nemeroff C. Atypical Antipsychotics in Bipolar Disorder. Medscape. Available at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554128. Accessed June 27, 2007.

  64. Brooks JO 3rd, Goldberg JF, Ketter TA, Miklowitz DJ, Calabrese JR, Bowden CL, et al. Safety and tolerability associated with second-generation antipsychotic polytherapy in bipolar disorder: findings from the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. Feb 2011;72(2):240-7. [Medline].

  65. Susan Jeffrey. FDA Warns of Aseptic Meningitis Risk With Lamotrigine. FDA Warns of Aseptic Meningitis Risk With Lamotrigine. Available at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/726845?src=ddd&uac=41752PN. Accessed August 12, 2010.

  66. Sarris J, Mischoulon D, Schweiter I. Omega-3 for Bipolar Disorder: Meta-Analyses of Use in Mania and Bipolar Depression. J Clin Psychiatry. 2011;Online ahead of print..

Previous
Next
 
Table. FDA-Approved Bipolar Treatment Regimens
Generic NameTrade NameManicMixedMaintenanceDepression
ValproateDepakoteX
Carbamazepine extended releaseEquetroXX
LamotrigineLamictalX
LithiumXX
AripiprazoleAbilifyXXX
ZiprasidoneGeodonXX
RisperidoneRisperdalXX
AsenapineSaphrisXX
QuetiapineSeroquelXX
ChlorpromazineThorazineX
OlanzapineZyprexaXXX
Olanzapine/fluoxetine combinationSymbyaxX
Previous
Next
 
 
 
 
 
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2012 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

DISCLAIMER: The content of this Website is not influenced by sponsors. The site is designed primarily for use by qualified physicians and other medical professionals. The information contained herein should NOT be used as a substitute for the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other health care provider. The information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only. In no way should it be considered as offering medical advice. Please check with a physician if you suspect you are ill.