title: Discriminating Between Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder.
abstract: Rates of misdiagnosis between major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder have been reported to be substantial, and the consequence of such misdiagnosis is likely to be a delay in achieving effective control of symptoms, in some cases spanning many years. Particularly in the midst of a depressive episode, or early in the illness course, it may be challenging to distinguish the 2 mood disorders purely on the basis of cross-sectional features. To date, no useful biological markers have been reliably shown to distinguish between bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, 800 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Chile, Av. Independencia 1027, Santiago 8071146, Chile.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Vöhringer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Center for Experimental Drugs and Diagnostics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Electronic address: rperlis@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Roy H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Perlis
mesh_terms: D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans
keywords: Bipolar disorder; Diagnosis; Irritability; Major depressive disorder; Misdiagnosis; Nosology