SEASONAL AFFECTIVE-DISORDER IN A TROPICAL COUNTRY - A CASE-REPORT

Seasonality and affective disorders in the Southern Hemisphere were in vestigated in populations living in latitudes (40 degrees S) equivalen t to those of the studies conducted in the Northern Hemisphere. The au thors describe a patient with bipolar II affective disorder who was li ving in a low-latitude area (Sao Paulo, latitude: 23 degrees 39' S). T he patient experienced five episodes of affective disorder that began in the summer and were characterized by symptoms typical of an autumn- winter depression. During the last two depressive episodes, the sympto ms remitted after a 4-week course of evening light therapy. The case c alls attention to the possibility that seasonality may influence the n atural history of affective disorders even in lower latitude regions.