Search

Eveningness and sleep disturbances are considered as markers of Bipolar Disorder (BD) and influence mood and emotional or behavioral states. This study investigates the associations between circadian markers and sleep quality on residual depressive symptoms and inhibition/activation dimensions during the euthymic phase. A sample of 89 euthymic adult individuals with BD was assessed for circadian preference and typology using the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) and the Circadian Type Inventory (CTI) and for sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Multidimensional Assessment of Thymic States (MAThyS) were used to measure residual depressive symptoms and the inhibition/activation dimensions. We examined any associations between these parameters using correlations and path analyses. We identified significant associations between eveningness and poorer sleep quality that correlated to higher depressive residual symptoms and a global inhibition. The use of path analyses led us to conclude that poor sleep quality mediated the relationship between eveningness and either residual mood symptoms or behavioral inhibition (motivation, sensory perception, interpersonal interaction, and cognition). These factors should be considered in the clinical evaluation of individuals with BD, with a specific attention during the euthymic phase, in order to achieve the best functional outcome possible.

Objective To examine which combination of objectively measured actigraphy parameters best characterizes the sleep-wake cycle of euthymic individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) compared with healthy controls (HC). Methods Sixty-one BD cases and 61 matched HC undertook 21 consecutive days of actigraphy. Groups were compared using discriminant function analyses (DFA) that explored dimensions derived from mean values of sleep parameters (Model 1); variability of sleep parameters (2); daytime activity (3); and combined sleep and activity parameters (4). Exploratory within-group analyses examined characteristics associated with misclassification. Results After controlling for depressive symptoms, the combined model (4) correctly classified 75% cases, while the sleep models (1 and 2) correctly classified 87% controls. The area under the curve favored the combined model (0.86). Age was significantly associated with misclassification among HC, while a diagnosis of BD-II was associated with an increased risk of misclassifications of cases. Conclusion Including sleep variability and activity parameters alongside measures of sleep quantity improves the characterization of cases of euthymic BD and helps distinguish them from HC. If replicated, the findings indicate that traditional approaches to actigraphy (examining mean values for the standard set of sleep parameters) may represent a suboptimal approach to understanding sleep-wake cycles in BD.

Background The poor prognostic of Bipolar disorders (BD) is closely linked to deaths by suicide. Sleep and circadian abnormalities are observed during all phases of BD and are also associated with suicide attempt (SA). In this context, this study sought to identify specific sleep and circadian rhythms markers associated with suicidal attempt in euthymic patients with BD. Methods The sample (N = 236) comprised 3 groups: 147 patients with BD including 57 with a history of SA and 90 without (NoSA), and 89 healthy controls (HC). All participants were recorded during 21 days with actigraphy. Results SA was associated with women gender (p = 0.03), familial history of SA (p = 0.03), mixed episodes (p = 0.001), and benzodiazepines (p = 0.019). SA, compared to noSA, had a morning phase preference (p = 0.04), and were more vigorous on the circadian type inventory (p = 0.04), and tended to suffer more from insomnia (45% versus 25% respectively, p = 0.10). SA was also associated with an earlier onset of daily activity assessed with actigraphy (M10 onset: p = 0.01). Backward stepwise linear regression indicated that a combination of four variables (Gender, vigour, insomnia, M10onset) significantly differentiated patients with SA from NoSA (p = 0.03). Limitations Cross-sectional design, and no examination of suicidal behaviors’ subgroups such as first attempters or repeaters, or violent suicide attempt. Conclusions Woman gender, vigorous circadian type, insomnia and an earlier daily activity appeared independently associated with SA in BD. If these biomarkers are confirmed in prospective studies, they should be screened and used to prevent suicide, with the development of personal and targeted chronobiological treatments.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the leading non-psychiatric comorbidities in bipolar disorders (BD). We sought to explore associations between risk of OSA in BD, clinical characteristics alongside with both subjective sleep complaints and objective sleep abnormalities.Euthymic patients with BD (n = 144) were assessed over a three-week period, by actigraphy, clinical interviews and questionnaires.Of the study sample, 32 (22%) individuals were at high risk of OSA (HR-OSA) and 112 (78%) had a low risk (LR-OSA), as assessed with the Berlin questionnaire. HR-OSA, compared to LR-OSA, were older (p = 0.031), had higher BMI (p 0.0005), larger neck circumference (p = 0.002), and more residual depressive symptoms (p 0.0005). HR-OSA was also associated with greater sleepiness (p = 0.003), poorer sleep quality (p = 0.003), insomnia complaints (p = 0.027), "languid" chronotype (p = 0.002), and higher actigraphy-derived fragmentation index (p = 0.015). Backward stepwise linear regression retained BMI and depressive symptoms (correct classification of 83% of participants). Classification increased up to 85.4% when adding sleepiness and languid-vigorous scales and up to 87.8% when adding fragmentation index. Combining ROC curve analysis and Youden Index provided best cut-offs (HR-OSA if cut-off greater than or equal to) of 29.84 for BMI (Sensibility(Se) = 0.47, Specificity(Spe) = 0.96) and 1.5 for MADRS total score (Se = 0.84, Spe = 0.58).No confirmation of OSA diagnosis with polysomnography.Higher BMI and residual depressive symptoms are the two best independent predictors of OSA in BD. Such information contributes to improving the screening and management of OSA in BD.NCT02627404.

Objective This study explored the correlations between sleep and circadian rhythm measures and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) components in remitted patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Method Euthymic patients with BD (n = 67) were recorded by 3 weeks with actigraphy. We used nonparametric correlations to study the links between the MetS parameters, atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), sleep efficacy, sleep latency, fragmentation index, and phase and amplitude of rhythms. We performed multivariable analyses to take into account potential confounding factors such as sleep apnea risk, antipsychotics use, and smoker status. Results We found correlations between lower sleep efficiency and higher triglyceride levels (P = 0.002), lower M10 onset (beginning of the 10 most active hours during the 24-h cycle) and higher systolic blood pressure (P = 0.03), higher fragmentation index and higher systolic blood pressure (P = 0.009), lower sleep efficiency, higher fragmentation index, and higher AIP (respectively P = 0.02 and P = 0.04). These correlations mostly remained significant when adjusting for confounders, with the exception of M10 onset and systolic blood pressure. Conclusion Sleep efficiency and fragmentation index might contribute to the cardiovascular risk of patients with BD independently of major confounding factors. Although these associations did not imply causality, proposing interventions on sleep quality and circadian rhythm regularity might contribute to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with BD.

Individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) have higher than average rates of coffee, tobacco and alcohol use. These substances may have deleterious effects on sleep quality and quantity, which may destabilize sleep/wake cycles and negatively impact the clinical course and prognosis of BD. The use of these substances may also be perceived as a self-medication attempt, for example, to induce sleep or to increase vigilance during the day. The objective of the current study was to investigate associations between the self-reported daily use of coffee, tobacco, and alcohol, and objective measures of sleep and activity patterns in adult individuals with BD. A sample of 147 euthymic individuals with BD were assessed for daily coffee, tobacco and alcohol consumption and 21 days of actigraphy monitoring. Actigraphic measures of sleep quantity and daytime activity were compared between groups classified as coffee+/coffee-, tobacco+/tobacco- and alcohol+/alcohol-, defined according to their current daily use. Then, we examined potential correlations between sleep/wake cycle parameters and the amount of daily consumption of each substance. Multivariable analyses identified associations between the use of coffee, tobacco, and alcohol and several sleep and activity parameters, such as between coffee, alcohol, and the relative amplitude of activity (respectively, p = .003 and p = .005), between alcohol and M10 onset (onset time of the 10 most active hours during the 24-h cycle) (p = .003), and between coffee and sleep duration (p = .047). This study supports the hypothesis that there is a relationship, whose direction would be bidirectional, between the daily use of these substances and the sleep/wake cycle in euthymic individuals with BD. These preliminary results require replications in other retrospective and prospective samples. They may have a clinical impact on psycho-education strategies to be proposed to individuals with BD.

Childhood attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common precursor of adult bipolar disorders (BD). Furthermore, actigraphy studies demonstrate that each disorder may be associated with abnormalities in sleep and activity patterns. This study investigates whether the presence or absence of self-reported childhood experiences of ADHD symptoms is associated with different sleep and activity patterns in adults with BD. A sample of 115 euthymic adult patients with BD was assessed for childhood ADHD symptoms using the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and then completed 21 days of actigraphy monitoring. Actigraphic measures of sleep quantity and variability and daytime activity were compared between BD groups classified as ADHD+ (

De nombreuses etudes montrent que la prevalence du syndrome metabolique est plus elevee chez les patients bipolaires que dans la population generale. En effet, entre 36 et 49 % de ces patients presentent des troubles metaboliques (Vancampfort, 2013), ce qui aggrave leur pronostic. La presence de troubles metaboliques chez ces patients peut etre expliquee par de nombreux facteurs comme une hygiene de vie a risque, une vulnerabilite genetique, la frequence des episodes depressifs ou les comorbidites psychiatriques, et les traitements psychotropes. D’autre part, ces patients presentent des perturbations de leurs rythmes circadiens, meme lors des periodes normothymiques. Plusieurs etudes recentes ont montre une correlation entre des perturbations circadiennes et des marqueurs metaboliques chez des patients bipolaires. L’objectif de cette revue est de mettre en evidence un lien possible entre troubles circadiens et du sommeil et anomalies metaboliques chez les patients bipolaires, et les voies physiopathologiques possiblement impliquees. Dans la population generale, des voies de regulation ont ete mises en evidence pour expliquer de tels liens, via des hormones comme la leptine et la ghreline. Une de nos hypotheses est l’implication de ces voies dans la vulnerabilite des patients bipolaires aux troubles metaboliques. Cette hypothese est appuyee par des donnees de la litterature recente sur des perturbations de ces hormones dans des maladies psychiatriques dont le trouble bipolaire. D’autres mecanismes semblent egalement en jeu, impliquant une deregulation de la secretion de melatonine et des mecanismes inflammatoires [Resume d'auteur]

To examine the pathophysiologic mechanisms that may link circadian disorder and metabolic syndrome in bipolar disorder (BP).A systematic review of the literature was conducted from January 2013 to January 2015, using the Medline and Cochrane databases, using the keywords "metabolic syndrome", "obesity", "leptin" and "circadian disorders", "sleeping disorders" and cross-referencing them with "bipolar disorder". The following types of publications were candidates for review: (i) clinical trials; (ii) studies involving patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder; (iii) studies involving patients with sleeping disorder; or (iv) data about metabolic syndrome.Forty articles were selected. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in BP was significantly higher compared to the general population (from 36 to 49% in the USA [Vancampfort, 2013]), and could be explained by several factors including reduced exercise and poor diet, genetic vulnerability, frequent depressive episodes, psychiatric comorbidity and psychotropic treatment. This high frequency of metabolic syndrome worsens the prognosis of these patients, increasing morbidity and mortality. Secondly, patients with BP experienced circadian and sleep disturbance, including modification in melatonin secretion. These perturbations are known to persist in periods of mood stabilization and are found in patients' relatives. Circadian disturbances are factors of relapse in bipolar patients, and they may also have a role in the metabolic comorbidities of these patients. Recent studies show that in populations of patients with bipolar disorder, a correlation between circadian disturbance and metabolic parameters are found. To identify the pathophysiological pathway connecting both could lead to a better comprehension of the disease and new therapeutics. In the overall population, mechanisms have been identified linking circadian and metabolic disorder involving hormones like leptin and ghrelin. These hormones are keys to regulation of energy balance in the organism, via their action on the hypothalamus, and are also regulated by sleep. We have hypothesized that these pathways could be implicated in the vulnerability of bipolar patients to metabolic syndrome. This hypothesis is supported by several studies showing dysregulation in leptin and ghrelin secretion in multiple psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder, as well as genetic variations of leptin and ghrelin genes in these diseases. We also assume that other mechanisms may be at stake to explain this link, such as melatonin dysregulation and inflammation.Circadian and sleeping disorder may have a role in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in BP. Hormones like leptin and ghrelin could be the link between these perturbations. Prevention and treatment of circadian disorder in BP may greatly reduce the occurrence of MetS in these patients. Being aware of this statement and taking care of these troubles should be a big step forward for treatment of BP.

To face the rapid evolution of the clinical laboratory activity from sample analysis towards an in-vitro diagnostic network, a Total Quality Management system must be implemented by laboratory professionals. Technological advances make it possible to introduce new tools and techniques for many issues surrounding the analytical process, as has happened for analysis automation and laboratory management. Preanalytical steps should benefit from extended traceability, using new identification devices such as electronic labels. This may promote the improvement of sample handling in this phase, such as during transportation or centrifugation. Another field is the expansion of metrology. Many factors can now easily be controlled in the clinical laboratory. New reliable automated systems are available to evaluate the performance of pipetting devices. Autonomous miniaturized recorders and probes connected to monitoring softwares allow traceable temperature monitoring. In this paper, some examples are presented to illustrate how technical solutions can support the implementation of Quality Assurance in the clinical laboratory.

The clinical laboratory is moving from an activity focused on the analysis to an in vitro diagnostic service network. Laboratory analysis is a disassembly process, very different from manufacturing processes which are assembly processes. Specific quality goals must be discussed before adopting robots. As an example, in order to achieve the ultimate quality goals in our laboratory, it was necessary to use automation for sample handling. We developed automation in a new multidisciplinary model at the Institute of Biology of Nantes. Our multidisciplinary laboratory included clinical laboratories, research laboratories, and start-up companies in an open space of 10,000 m2 shared between two floors. Sample transportation is automated from clinical wards to laboratory workstations.