Response to electroconvulsive therapy in elderly patients with late-onset bipolar disorder: The impact of cerebral small vessel disease.

OBJECTIVES: Cerebral Small Vessel Disease (CSVD) is a chronic, progressive vascular disorder that confers increased vulnerability to psychiatric syndromes, including late-life mood disorders. In this study, we investigated the impact of CSVD on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) outcomes in patients with late-onset bipolar disorder (BD). METHODS: A sample of 54 non-demented elderly patients (≥60 years) with late-onset BD and treatment-resistant major depression, mixed state, or catatonia who underwent bilateral ECT were included in this naturalistic observational study. A diagnosis of CSVD was established based on brain neuroimaging performed before ECT. All patients were evaluated before and after ECT using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), and the Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI). RESULTS: Of the total sample, 19 patients were diagnosed with CSVD (35.2%). No significant differences were observed at baseline between patients with and without CSVD. Overall, a response was obtained in 66%-68.5% of patients, with remission in 56.2%. No significant differences in ECT outcomes were found between those with and without CSVD, and both groups exhibited substantial improvements in symptom severity following ECT. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of ECT in late-onset BD was not influenced by the presence of CSVD. This finding aligns with previous research on unipolar depression. Accordingly, ECT should be considered for elderly patients with late-onset BD, regardless of the presence of CSVD.

The impact of mild behavioral impairment on the prognosis of geriatric depression: preliminary results.

Our study aimed to examine how the presence of Mild Behavioral Impairment (MBI) symptoms influenced the outcome of late-life depression (LLD). Twenty-nine elderly (≥ 60 years) depressive patients, including eleven (37.9%) with MBI, were recruited and followed-up on average for 33.41 ±â€…8.24 weeks. Psychiatric symptoms severity and global functioning were assessed, respectively, using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. BPRS total score significantly decreased from baseline to follow-up (P < 0.001, d = 1.33). The presence of MBI had no significant effect on mood and cognitive symptoms improvement. On the contrary, while a significant increase in GAF score was observed in patients without MBI (P = 0.001, d = 1.01), no significant improvement of global functioning was detected in those with MBI (P = 0.154, d = 0.34) after 6-month follow-up. The presence of MBI in patients with LLD may negatively affect long-term outcome, slowing or preventing functional improvement.

Bipolar Disorder and Manic-Like Symptoms in Alzheimer's, Vascular and Frontotemporal Dementia: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: An increased risk of manic episodes has been reported in patients with neurodegenerative disorders, but the clinical features of bipolar disorder (BD) in different subtypes of dementia have not been thoroughly investigated. OBJECTIVES: The main aim of this study is to systematically review clinical and therapeutic evidence about manic syndromes in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Since manic-mixed episodes have been associated to negative outcomes in patients with dementia and often require medical intervention, we also critically summarized selected studies with relevance for the treatment of mania in patients with cognitive decline. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched up to February 2022. Sixty-one articles on patients with AD, VaD, or FTD and BD or (hypo) mania have been included. RESULTS: Manic symptoms seem to be associated to disease progression in AD, have a greatly variable temporal relationship with cognitive decline in VaD, and frequently coincide with or precede cognitive impairment in FTD. Overall, mood stabilizers, and electroconvulsive therapy may be the most effective treatments, while the benefits of short-term treatment with antipsychotic agents must be balanced with the associated risks. Importantly, low-dose lithium salts may exert neuroprotective activity in patients with AD. CONCLUSION: Prevalence, course, and characteristics of manic syndromes in patients with dementia may be differentially affected by the nature of the underlying neurodegenerative conditions.

Neutrophil/Lymphocyte, Platelet/Lymphocyte, and Monocyte/Lymphocyte Ratios in Mood Disorders.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorders (BDs), the most severe types of mood disorders (MDs), are considered as among the most disabling illnesses worldwide. Several studies suggested that inflammatory neuroinflammation might be involved in the pathophysiology of MDs while reporting increasing data on the relationships between these processes and classical neurotransmitters, hypothalamus-pituitaryadrenal axis (HPA), and neurotrophic factors. The assessment of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) in peripheral blood represents a simple method to evaluate the inflammatory status. The aim of the present paper was to review the literature on the possible relationships between NLR, PLR, and MLR in MDs and to comment on their possible wider use in clinical research. Thirty-five studies were included in the present review. The majority of them had higher values of these parameters, particularly NLR values in patients with MDs when compared to healthy subjects. The increase would appear more robust in patients with BD during a manic episode, thus indicating that it could be considered as both state and trait markers. In addition, increased NLR and PLR levels seem to represent prognostic elements for the early discovery of post-stroke depression. The findings of the present review would indicate the need to carry out further studies in this field. In particular, NLR, PLR, and MLR seem to be promising tools to detect economically and easily the activation of the inflammatory system and to perhaps evaluate the etiology and course of MDs. Again, they could suggest some information to better understand the relationship between inflammatory and cardiovascular disease and MDs, and thus, to provide clinical implications in terms of management and treatment.