Manic episodes in two patients treated with interferon alpha

The authors report the assessment of 2 patients on interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia who developed manic symptoms long after IFN-alpha therapy had been initiated. These cases suggest that chronic IFN-alpha therapy may be associated with vulnerability for developing overt psychiatric symptoms, particularly in cases where the patient is experiencing psychosocial stress, and that the current definition of persistent adverse effects of IFN-alpha should be broadened to include the occurrence of manic episodes.