Illnesses in siblings of US patients with bipolar disorder relate to multigenerational family history and patients severity of illness

Putative Risk Biomarkers of Bipolar Disorder in At-risk Youth

Bipolar disorder is a highly heritable and functionally impairing disease. The recognition and intervention of BD especially that characterized by early onset remains challenging. Risk biomarkers for predicting BD transition among at-risk youth may improve disease prognosis. We reviewed the more recent clinical studies to find possible pre-diagnostic biomarkers in youth at familial or (and) clinical risk of BD. Here we found that putative biomarkers for predicting conversion to BD include findings from multiple sample sources based on different hypotheses. Putative risk biomarkers shown by perspective studies are higher bipolar polygenetic risk scores, epigenetic alterations, elevated immune parameters, front-limbic system deficits, and brain circuit dysfunction associated with emotion and reward processing. Future studies need to enhance machine learning integration, make clinical detection methods more objective, and improve the quality of cohort studies.

Bipolar II disorder as the initial presentation of CADASIL: an underdiagnosed manifestation

Mood disturbances have been documented in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). The highly varied morbidity indicates that the affective symptoms in CADASIL have not been cataloged systematically, leading to ineffective treatment, affecting the patients' quality of life, and possibly resulting in suicide. We present a case of CADASIL with bipolar II disorder as the first manifestation. A middle-aged female reported recurrent depressive episodes and appeared treatment resistant to adequate dosages and durations of antidepressants. Following a structured psychiatric interview and neuropsychological assessment, a past episode of hypomania was identified. Added treatment with sodium valproate alleviated most symptoms. Considering late-onset bipolar disorder with unexplained decline in cognition, a medical history of migraine, and a suspected family history of stroke, further cranial magnetic resonance imaging scan was performed and revealed severe leukoencephalopathy, prompting further investigation. The diagnosis was revised to CADASIL after Arg587Cys NOTCH3 mutation was confirmed. This case highlights the evolving process of affective disorder diagnosis and underlying organic etiologies. Based on the overlap of white matter hyperintensities, NOTCH3 mutation, and valproate therapy in bipolar disorder and CADASIL, bipolar II depression may be a poorly recognized manifestation of CADASIL. Well-designed clinical trials are warranted to verify the current findings.