Massachusetts General Hospital

Psychotic-like symptoms associated with poor outcomes in patients with depression

Poor antidepressant response does not reflect widespread unrecognized bipolar disorder

06/Dec/2010

Among patients with depression, the presence of many aspects of illness which may be associated with bipolar disorder does not appear to be associated with treatment resistance—evidence against the common hypothesis that some cases of difficult-to-treat depression are actually unrecognized bipolar disorder, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the April 2011 print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, many patients with depression also report psychotic-like symptoms, such as hearing voices or believing they are being spied on or plotted against, and those who do are less likely to respond to treatment.

Link to full AMA release on study led by MGH physician Roy Perlis, MD.

Media Contacts: Sue McGreevey, smcgreevey@partners.org, 617 724-2764