Hypothalamus tumor with bipolar disorder diagnosis 2021

[pattismith]

Beyond the bipolar disorder diagnosis:
Hypothalamus and its network damage in determining neuropsychiatric and Korsakoff-like memory disorders

panelMonicaRicciaMassimilianoRuggeriaCarmelaGeraceaAndreaBrunorib

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2021.02.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Craniopharyngiomas (CP's) are hypothalamic tumors often associated with psychological disorders.

Nevertheless, its diagnosis is still challenging when psychiatric disorders are not associated with any other neurological symptoms.

This single-case study describes a patient with a history of bipolar disorder before a diagnosis of a large CP arising the sellar and suprasellar region was posed.

At the time of the present study the patient showed emotional/behavioral disorders and Korsakoff-like amnesia, that completely recovered after surgical resection of the tumor.

This is one of those few cases described in literature, who presented cognitive/behavioral disorders because the compression of the diencephalic structures due to CP mass effect.

This case offers further evidence on the functional neuroanatomy of the hypothalamus and its pathways.

 

[lenora]

Hello Patti....I've lived with a parent and some brothers and sisters with bipolar disorder my whole life. This from the time when drugs were just being discovered. No, lithium never worked in our family and a host of problems couldn't be solved.

My mother was hospitalized in a State Institution that I have to say really tried to remedy the situation. No matter which drugs were used, nothing was working. Since she was well on her way to spending the rest of her life there, we agreed to electric shock treatments. Within 2 days, she was her old self....incredible, to say the least. She hadn't forgotten anything, could function well but did have to live with us for about 2 mos. before she could face the home situation again.

Do you think that shock treatments could have somehow stimulated the hypothalamus in some way? I've heard of a number of different "causes" of bipolar disorder, a nasty illness by the way, and am always interested in anything new.

At least there are meds for it today, but the gold standard for my mother was always the shock treatments. (They're very humanely done today. We hear so many of the horrible stories, I just wanted you to know that they can properly work in those who need them). Yours, Lenora.

 

[pattismith]

Hello Patti....I've lived with a parent and some brothers and sisters with bipolar disorder my whole life. This from the time when drugs were just being discovered. No, lithium never worked in our family and a host of problems couldn't be solved.

My mother was hospitalized in a State Institution that I have to say really tried to remedy the situation. No matter which drugs were used, nothing was working. Since she was well on her way to spending the rest of her life there, we agreed to electric shock treatments. Within 2 days, she was her old self....incredible, to say the least. She hadn't forgotten anything, could function well but did have to live with us for about 2 mos. before she could face the home situation again.

Do you think that shock treatments could have somehow stimulated the hypothalamus in some way? I've heard of a number of different "causes" of bipolar disorder, a nasty illness by the way, and am always interested in anything new.

At least there are meds for it today, but the gold standard for my mother was always the shock treatments. (They're very humanely done today. We hear so many of the horrible stories, I just wanted you to know that they can properly work in those who need them). Yours, Lenora.

I'm not advocating electroshock, but here what I read today (it may explain why some have benefited from it)

Improvement of psychomotor retardation after electroconvulsive therapy is related to decreased IL-6 levels

Jan-Baptist Belge

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110146Get rights and content

march 2021

Highlights

•
ECT improved psychomotor retardation.
•
IL-6 levels decreased significantly following ECT.
•
Decreased IL-6 levels were related to the improvement of psychomotor retardation.

Abstract

Background

Prior studies suggest that IL-6 may be involved in the pathophysiology of psychomotor symptoms in depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as yet the most effective biological treatment of severe depression, is known to improve psychomotor functioning, while recent studies have shown a decrease in the elevated IL-6 levels of depressed patients following ECT.

Objectives

This study investigates whether the improvement in psychomotor functions in patients with depression after ECT is related to changes in IL-6 levels.

Methods

Peripheral IL-6 was quantified and the severity of psychomotor agitation and retardation determined using the CORE assessment of psychomotor symptoms in 62 patients with a (unipolar or bipolar) depressive episode within one week before and within one week after their course of ECT.

Results

IL-6 levels had decreased significantly following ECT and both psychomotor retardation and agitation had improved.

The decrease in IL-6 levels was related to the improvement of psychomotor retardation, with post-hoc analysis revealing that higher baseline IL-6 levels positively correlated with higher psychomotor retardation scores.

Conclusion

With this study, we provide the first evidence that the improvement of psychomotor retardation after ECT for depression is related to the immunomodulatory properties of the treatment, most specifically the decrease in IL-6 levels.

 

[lenora]

Thanks, @pattismith. No, I was using that a last resort only type of thing, but was amazingly surprised at how effective the treatments were. Today they're even easier, but I'm certainly not telling anyone what to do.

Like everything else, some people may have negative results, but we seldom hear about the overwhelming number of positive results in patients who couldn't be helped. Thanks for your input. Yours, Lenora.