Abstract
A young adult with no prior history of affective disease suffered the onset of a rapid cycling bipolar illness, marginally responsive to psychotropic medications, following a mild closed-head injury, and persisting after the cognitive effects of the injury had resolved. A concurrence of findings on the neurological examination, neurobehavioural examination, SPECT scan, EEG and neuropsychological test battery suggested the presence of a diffuse cerebral injury with a predominance of left frontotemporal findings. This case demonstrates that a severe and disabling mood disorder may follow a mild head injury, and that its course may be independent of cognitive impairment and recovery.
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Antipsychotic Agents / therapeutic use
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Bipolar Disorder / drug therapy
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Bipolar Disorder / physiopathology*
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Bipolar Disorder / psychology
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Brain Damage, Chronic / drug therapy
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Brain Damage, Chronic / physiopathology*
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Brain Damage, Chronic / psychology
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Carbamazepine / therapeutic use
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Dominance, Cerebral / physiology
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Drug Therapy, Combination
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Frontal Lobe / injuries
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Frontal Lobe / physiopathology
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Haloperidol / therapeutic use
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Head Injuries, Closed / drug therapy
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Head Injuries, Closed / physiopathology*
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Head Injuries, Closed / psychology
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Humans
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Imipramine / therapeutic use
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Lithium Carbonate / therapeutic use
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Male
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Neurocognitive Disorders / drug therapy
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Neurocognitive Disorders / physiopathology*
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Neurocognitive Disorders / psychology
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Neuropsychological Tests
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Periodicity*
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Temporal Lobe / injuries
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Temporal Lobe / physiopathology
Substances
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Antipsychotic Agents
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Lithium Carbonate
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Carbamazepine
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Haloperidol
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Imipramine