Vieillissement cognitif dans le trouble bipolaire et la schizophrénie

The patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have cognitive deficits that explain the larger part of their functional difficulties. Generally speaking, the same cognitive functions are affected in the two conditions, but the deficits appear earlier and are more acute in schizophrenia. In this pathology, the deficit appears to be established at the time of the first psychotic episode and not to increase with aging for most patients. In patients with bipolar disorder, the deficits are thought to intensify with the number of thymic episodes. The medications available have not demonstrated their efficacy against these cognitive deficits, and their long-term effects are not well understood. The only approach to have demonstrated a significant positive impact is cognitive remediation, which should no doubt be instated as early as possible.