MRIs find signs in bipolar brains
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Posted: 9:33 AM EST (1433 GMT)
CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- Bipolar disorder, a sometimes
misdiagnosed mental illness characterized by wide emotional swings,
may be identifiable by chemical abnormalities visible in victims'
brains, researchers said Tuesday.
Detailed brain scans performed on 42 adults, half of whom had been
previously diagnosed as bipolar, showed consistently different levels
of five chemicals in areas of the brain that control behavior,
movement, vision, reading and sensory information, they said.
The Mayo Clinic study used a high-power magnetic resonance imaging
scanner that had twice the magnetic field strength of scanners
previously used to examine the brains of bipolar patients.
"Bipolar disorder is challenging to diagnose because individuals can
cover up the symptoms of the illness or may recognize only their
depression, not the manic phase of the disorder," Mayo Clinic
radiologist John ****t said in a re****t delivered to the annual meeting
of the Radiological Society of North America.
"The psychiatric community clearly needs a tool to help diagnose
bipolar disorder," he said.
The types of therapy used with bipolar disorder differ from those
employed to fight depression, so a correct diagnosis is im****tant,
****t said. Most diagnoses are made based on conversations with the
patient.
Roughly 2.3 million Americans suffer from bipolar disorder, according
to the National Institute of Mental Health.
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