Cyclothymic disorder: validating criteria for inclusion in the bipolar affective group.
The authors identified 46 cyclothymic probands from a random pool of 500 psychiatric outpatients and prospectively followed them over a 2-3 year period. They used 50 bipolar patients with a definite history of mania and 50 patients with personality disorders as control groups. Although 66% of the cyclothymic outpatients had previously received the diagnosis of hysteria or sociopathy, their pedigrees were similar to those seen in classical bipolar manic-depressive illness; furthermore, 44% of the cyclothymic group experienced  brief hypomanic episodes while taking tricyclic drugs, and 35% developed full-blown hypomanic, manic, or depressive episodes during drug-free follow-up. The authors conclude that these findings provide evidence for a cyclothymic-bipolar spectrum.
D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D003527:Cyclothymic Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010375:Pedigree; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification*; D011446:Prospective Studies
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic