[Cyclothymia of advanced age (based on data from observations at the geriatric psychiatry office of a general-type...

Cyclothymia was studied in 129 patients aged over 60 in the gerontology unit of an outpatient clinic in Moscow. Premanifest period of the disease was analyzed clinically to single out the functional and somatic disorders. The typology of the first cyclothymic phases and conditions of their development are described as related to the ages of the disease manifestation under 60 vs over 60. The data evidencing the polar nature of the affective disorders are presented to characterize the natural history of the ailment in senile cyclothymic patients.