Minor physical anomalies in affective disorders. A review of the literature

Background: The increased frequency of WAS may be external markers of abnormal brain development in affective disorders. Methods: A MEDLINE, psychInfo and Web of Science search was evaluated to collect all publications oil the prevalence of minor physical anomalies in bipolar affective disorder and unipolar major depression. Aims: As reports on the prevalence of MPAs in affective disorders were controversial, were based on highly different number of patients and were evaluated by the use Of Scales with different sensitivities, we considered as important to review the current state of knowledge and to recommend directions to Further research. Results: 14 publications on 12 studies were found after a careful literature search. 5 studies have dealt with the prevalence of WAS in bipolar affective disorder, 3 have reported oil examinations among patients with unipolar major depression, while 5 publications oil 3 studies combined patients with bipolar affective disorder, schizoaffective disorder and unipolar major depression. I study was published on the prevalence of WAS among mood disorders, without the differentiation of the data of patients with bipolar affective disorder and unipolar major depression. Limitations: Few studies with relatively small size were published, there is no data oil the distinction between bipolar I and bipolar II disorders. Conclusion: The reviewed data suggest a higher probability of the role of,in aberrant neurodevelopment in bipolar affective disorder and a smaller in Unipolar major depression. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.