The co-occurrence of multiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder: A case series on clinical and neuroimaging correlates

Abstract

There is a dearth of studies on neuroimaging correlates of Bipolar Disorder (BD) in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We describe the clinical profile and neuroimaging findings of four cases of MS with BD. Among them, two patients had multiple mood episodes preceding the neurological symptoms, one had concurrent manic and neurological symptoms, and one had multiple depressive episodes and an isolated steroid-induced manic episode. Frontal and temporal lobes, and Periventricular White Matter were involved in all four cases, and hence may be considered biological substrates of BD in MS. Larger studies are needed to validate the utility of these findings.

Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Multiple sclerosis; Neuroimaging correlates; Organic mania; Organic mood disorder; Steroid-induced mania.