Manpreet Singh, MD: The Different Subtypes of ADHD and Mood Disorders

Personalized medicine is a pursuit in basically all medical spaces, including psychiatry.

This is particularly challenging in psychiatry because many of the diseases manifest differently individual patients.
If you take a disease like ADHD, for example, some patients are more attuned to the hyperactivity symptoms, while other patients can regularly lack focus because of the condition.

In an interview with HCPLive® Manpreet K. Singh, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, talked about how the different ADHD subtypes are different and similar to the symptoms of mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder.

“Both subtypes have overlaps with for example symptoms of bipolar disorder,” Singh said. “The hyperactivity you sometimes see in mania sometimes looks like the Energizer Bunny you see in potentially with the hyperactivity in ADHD. Similarly, inattention can manifest in both bipolar disorder and ADHD.”

There are some subtle differences in clinical observation, she said.

Singh said a lot of pediatric patients with just inattention have more internal distractions, while those with “bread and butter” ADHD have more external distractions.

During the recent American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (2023) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Singh presented a session on the interplay between ADHD and mood disorders.