Focussing on bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a recurrent, highly disabling under-recognized and under-treated disease. Our view upon bipolar disorder changed para-digmatically from a disorder formerly seen as a rather benign disease as compared to schizophrenia, to a disease with inherent cognitive, psychosocial and emotional disabilities going along with high suicide-rates and high rates of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities. The concept of a bipolar spectrum as represented by Jules Angst and Hagop Akiskal challenges current operationalized diagnostic criteria as exemplified by DSM and ICD. This concept enlarges the prevalence of bipolar disorder from formerly 1 to 5 % or more of the general population. It seems even that the old epistemic conflict between ideographic and taxonomic approaches in psychiatry, celebrates a revival.