Rocco de Fillips
Istituto di Psicopatologia, Italy
Title: Continuous circular cycling in bipolar disorder as a predictor of poor outcome
Biography
Biography: Rocco de Fillips
Abstract
Objective: This prospective study aims to determine if patients with bipolar disorder with a continuous circular course (CCC) are significantly different in clinical characteristics and response to long- term treatment from those with a non-continuous circular course (N-CCC). CCC was defined as the alternation of depression and (hypo)mania without a completely free well interval, and N-CCC as the presence of symptom- free intervals after the sequence mania-depression or depression-mania. Method: The study sample includes 140 consecutive patients with bipolar I or II disorder according to DSM-IV criteria, aged 18-65 years and receiving prophylactic treatment for ≥1 year. Treatment was based upon international guidelines and clinical experience at the time of patient\\\'s enrollment (from January 1998 to January 2006). Primary outcome was the absence of new episodes during the follow-up. Significance level was set at p<.05
