Join Annemiek Dols and Alexandra Beunders to learn more about older age bipolar disorder (OABD) with a focus on cognitive functioning! Annemiek Dols discusses bipolar disorder in older age generally, including the different forms of OABD, medication and side effects, the theory of accelerated or premature aging in OABD, and cognitive functioning in OABD. Next, Alexandra Beunders will report her findings from her recent study on cognition in OABD, which you can find linked here: Cognitive performance in older‐age bipolar disorder: Investigating psychiatric characteristics, cardiovascular burden and psychotropic medication – Beunders – 2021. Alexandra will discuss how specific psychiatric characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors and benzodiazepine use can influence cognitive performance in older age bipolar disorder. Join Alexandra and Annemiek to hear their integral knowledge about bipolar disorder in older age, and how it may impact cognitive functioning!
Disclaimer: The content of the International Bipolar Foundation webinars is for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician and never disregard professional medical advice because of something you have read in any IBPF content.
Annemiek Dols, Psychiatrist for older-age and neuropsychiatry and researcher – Annemiek Dols is a psychiatrist with over 10 years of experience. Apart from treating older aged patients, she strives to reduce stigma on mental health problems.
She aims for a society in which patients and relatives can open up about their mental health without shame, such that they can find the support and understanding from others that they need. She works as a psychiatrist at an outward clinic for older age and neuropsychiatry at GGZ inGeest, a specialized mental health care institution in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She combines her clinical work with research at the Amsterdam UMC. Her clinical and research specialties are bipolar disorder in people older than 50, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and frontotemporal dementia.
Alexandra Beunders, Resident in psychiatry and PhD-student – Alexandra Beunders is a resident in psychiatry at GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, the Netherlands since 2018. She combines her residency with a PhD trajectory on bipolar disorder in older age. More specifically, she studies how bipolar disorder influences physical health and cognitive functioning in this special subgroup.