Neurological soft signs found in bipolar I patients

Main Category: Bipolar
Article Date: 31 May 2004 - 11:00 PDT

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Study findings reveal that patients with bipolar I disorder have neurological soft signs (NSS), which reflect stable neurological abnormalities that are established at, or before, disease onset. NSS, which refer to impairments in sensory integration, motor co-ordination, and the sequencing of complex motor acts, have already been found to be more prevalent in schizophrenic individuals than in their mentally healthy peers.

However, relatively few studies have looked for NSS in patients with bipolar I disorder, observe A Negash (Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia) and colleagues.

"Studying prevalence and patterns of NSS in bipolar I disorder might increase knowledge of the causal mechanisms, neuroanatomy, and pathogenesis of this specific disorder," they say.

Using the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES), the researchers looked for NSS in 224, predominantly treatment naïve, bipolar I disorder patients, and in 78 mentally healthy control individuals.

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