Luis Herbst, Argentina

Do you feel the latest changes to the CANMAT guidelines have achieved a similar level of accuracy to DSM-5 when diagnosing mania with depressive symptoms?

In my opinion the answer is yes - they may even be better. I think that the CANMAT guidelines are the most important guidelines that we have right now.

What incidence of comorbidities (weight gain, cardiovascular problems, etc.) do you see in your bipolar I patients?

I see a high level of incidence because the medication that we use not only treats the problems, but they also produce these secondary events.

Based on your experience, what particular signs and symptoms characterize an early stage patient suffering mania with depressive symptoms?

There is often a decreased need for sleep, and an increase in the patient’s activity, combined with dysphoria.