Brain scans halp bipolar disorder patients

Main Category: Bipolar
Article Date: 03 Jan 2004 - 0:00 PDT


The magnetic fields of brain scans could help ease bipolar disorder by affecting the electrical working of the patient's brains.

According to The Boston Globe (USA), researchers are trying to develop a small version of a magnetic resonance imaging device that are used to scan patients (at Maclean Hospital, Boston, USA).

According to the Globe, the researchers stumbled on to the discovery. A research assistant found that patients who got the scan for other reasons emerged in better moods than they were before the scan.

One patient was so depressed that she couldn't even answer questions. After a 20-minute scan, she was astounded by how much better she felt. 'What happened? What did you do?' the researcher, Aimee Parow, told the newspaper. Another emerged joking with Parow, which was completely out of character.

Researchers suspect that the magnets in the brain scan affect the brain, and that the mood-lifting can last for weeks, according to the Globe.

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