title: Two-year follow-up of treated adolescents with early-onset bipolar disorder: Changes in neurocognition.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies have analyzed the course of neurocognition in treated children and adolescents with early-onset bipolar disorder (EOBD) and shown improvements in attention, working memory, and verbal memory after treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the progress over two years in neuropsychological performance of a sample of medicated adolescents with EOBD compared to healthy controls (HC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty adolescents, diagnosed in clinical setting as DSM-IV bipolar disorder, treated for two years, euthymic, and 20 gender and age-matched HC were assessed at two moments in reasoning, verbal and visual memory, working memory, speed, visual-motor skills and executive function. Multivariate analyses of variance was carried out to analyze the differences between groups over time, and to monitor the influence of psychotic symptoms and type of mood-stabilizer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The entire sample improved on verbal and visual memory tests (verbal recall p<0.01; visual recall p<0.001). Moreover, patients improved more than controls in verbal reasoning (p<0.01), working memory (p<0.01), processing speed (p<0.01) and visual-motor skills (p<0.001). Psychotic symptoms and treatment with lithium were associated with poorer development in executive control tasks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sample size was small and groups were re-evaluated in slight different follow-up periods. Doses of antipsychotics drugs over time were not controlled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Processing speed and visual-motor skills in the EOBD group normalized during follow-up. Executive functioning, working memory, and verbal and visual memory remained impaired in patients versus controls. The knowledge of cognitive deficits due to normal course of illness or to drug effects allows better therapeutic strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: slera@clinic.ub.es.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lera-Miguel
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain; CIBERSAM, Spain; Institut d׳Investigació en Biomedicina August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andrés-Perpiñá
authors.affiliation: CIBERSAM, Spain; Institut de Biomedicina, Universitat de Barcelona, IBUB, Spain; Department of Animal Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fatjó-Vilas
authors.affiliation: CIBERSAM, Spain; Institut de Biomedicina, Universitat de Barcelona, IBUB, Spain; Department of Animal Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fañanás
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain; CIBERSAM, Spain; Institut d׳Investigació en Biomedicina August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lázaro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000187:drug effects; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents
keywords: Adolescent; Bipolar disorder; Cognition; Control group; Follow-up study