Neurological abnormalities in patients with bipolar disorder.
A test for agraphaesthesia and the face-hand test were administered to 75 DSM-III bipolar disorder patients. Twenty-five patients (33.3%) had abnormal findings on these tests. Abnormal findings were limited to the group of 54 patients with a history of long-term neuroleptic exposure. There was a strong correlation between the duration of cumulative neuroleptic exposure and the presence of abnormalities. In the group with long-term neuroleptic exposure, family history of affective disorders was negatively correlated with the presence of abnormalities. It appears that long-term neuroleptic exposure may be a contributory causal factor in the development of abnormal neurological signs in bipolar patients. A tendency toward more left-hand errors suggesting hemispheric integration dysfunction was noted in the patients exposed to long-term neuroleptics.
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009460:Neurologic Examination
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents