Dermatoglyphic is the study of the epidermal ridges and the pattern formed by them. It may be pointed out that genetic factors have a large share in determining the variations in dermatoglyphics. It is however, suggested by evidence that bipolar mood disorder factors are determined more by genetic factors than by the environmental factors. The experiment has been undertaken to look for the effects of the bipolar mood disorder on dermatoglyphics. The dermatoglyphic characteristics of subjects with bipolar mood disorder when compared with control group revealed significant differences. The radial loop were increased in bipolar mood disorder, but there were little changes in 'atd' angles between normal and bipolar mood disorder.
Bipolar mood disorder is an established psychiatric disorder affecting 1% of the population and it is a highly disabling disease. As of today, its aetiology is still a confounding question. This case is interesting as the patient presented with a full-blown mania after suffering from electrical injury. The persistent syndrome in this case could point to a unique diagnostic entity and offer possible explanation of the pathophysiology of manic depressive as well as a consideration for caution when prescribing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
The onset of bipolar disorder is influenced by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. We previously found that a large increase in sunlight in springtime was associated with a lower age of onset. This study extends this analysis with more collection sites at diverse locations, and includes family history and polarity of first episode.
A 55-year-old woman presented with sudden onset of left-sided body weakness and numbness, which was diagnosed as multifocal cerebral infarct with right thalamic bleed. She had concurrent hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease. She suffered from central poststroke pain and reactive depression as poststroke complications, for which amitriptyline was prescribed. Unfortunately, she developed symptoms suggestive of mania and psychosis upon initiation of medications, which resolved upon withdrawal of amitriptyline. Amitriptyline is effective for treatment of poststroke pain and particularly useful in concomitant depression. Unexpectedly, this patient developed new psychopathologies after initiation of this medication. This case highlights the development of new psychopathologies that could be due to the antidepressant, underlying bipolar disorder or a complication of the stroke itself. Primary care providers need to actively enquire regarding neuropsychiatric symptoms because they can adversely affect the patient's quality of life as well as impede rehabilitation efforts.
There is increasing evidence that genetic factors play a role in the etiology of schizophrenic disorders. One thousand eighty-nine first-degree relatives of schizophrenics and 1,137 controls were studied to discover their psychiatric morbidity. Psychiatric morbidity was found in 16.34% of the first-degree relatives (FDR) of schizophrenics (parents, 5.69%; siblings, 7.71%; offspring, 2.94%) as compared to 6.9% in the controls (P < 0.001). Schizophrenia was found in 8.3% of the patient group, which was significantly higher (0.2%) as compared to the controls. Schizoid-schizotypal personality disorder was found in 3.03% of FDRs of the schizophrenic group. Depressive disorder was found in 4.4% and 2.1% in the control and patient group, respectively, which was statistically significant. Morbidity risk of schizophrenia was found in 16.97%, 6.22% and 5.79% of schizophrenia, schizoid-schizotypal personality disorder and depressive disorder, respectively, in the FDR of schizophrenic group.