To the delight of the medical community, there has been a surge of new methods and techniques for more effectively diagnosing bipolar disorder. One of these new methods is a blood-flow measure, where clinicians use different levels in blood flow activity to determine whether an individual is suffering from bipolar disorder or unipolar depression. In the British Journal of Psychiatry, Jorge Almeida, M.D. goes into more detail about the process of Arterial Spin Labeling, which involves measuring blood flow in the parts of the brain associated with depression. A recent study was done in order to determine how helpful Arterial Spin Labeling is in diagnosing Bipolar Disorder and Depression.
Test subjects consisted of people with depression, people with bipolar disorder, and healthy controls. The blood flow measurement predicted the condition of the test subjects with 81% accuracy. The results of this study, and others like it, are causing an increase of support bedhind the blood flow diagnosis method. More use of this method could mean earlier diagnoses in the future, which would also result in better treatment.
If a disorder is caught at an earlier age, individuals suffering from these disorders can learn to better manage their symptoms so they will not negatively impact their future. In addition, the blood flow method can also predict these disorders in people who have not yet shown symptoms. If a person is aware they have the potential to develop a particular disorder, then that person can take steps to cope with or prevent these symptoms.
Knowledge is power, and with more accurate and earlier diagnoses of these disorders, individuals will be able to gain more control over their lives.
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