31.1 typical and atypical onset of bipolar disorder in childhood and adolescence

In the last decade, the growing evidence supporting the hypothesis of bipolar disorder (BD) as a progressive neurobiological illness prompted research to identify early symptoms to provide treatments that might attenuate the illness course. As a consequence, the attention on populations of children and adolescents has increased sharply in the recent years. However, to date, the concept of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) still raises important and etiological questions. In particular, the evidence of the existence of different subtypes of illnesses raises doubts on the unitary construct of this disorder and undermines the boundaries with such partially overlapping diseases as ADHD.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research