There are a range of treatment options for people with bipolar disorder who are experiencing a manic episode. An important part of this treatment is to reduce the symptoms of mania and provide the individual with some level of normality. I blogged this time last year about a meta-analysis in the Lancet that showed that [read the full story…]
Preterm babies are three times more likely to be admitted to hospital for a mental health problem as an adult than normal term babies, according to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry by researchers in the UK and Sweden. About 1 in every 13 children born in the UK are classified as [read the full story…]
This is one in a series of 5 systematic reviews commissioned by the Department of Health, which seek to establish a comprehensive understanding of the distribution and pattern of psychotic disorders in England, between 1950 and 2009. All mental health professionals, commissioners and health planners will find this research relevant to their work. It’s well [read the full story…]
Lithium is a medicine that has been used for over 50 years to treat depression and bipolar disorder. It comes in two forms that are used clinically: lithium carbonate and lithium citrate. A certain level of the drug is needed in the blood stream for it to be effective, but if the level rises too [read the full story…]
Bipolar disorder is a complex health condition and the diagnosis of bipolar depression is a fairly contentious topic. This is because depression occurs in bipolar disorder alongside a wide range of symptoms of mood elevation. Some patients have depressive episodes as well as severely elevated mood during the course of their illness, whereas other patients [read the full story…]
We know that it can take many years for people with bipolar disorder to be accurately diagnosed, following an initial episode of mental illness. This cohort study carried out by researchers from Denmark, the US and Wales, set out to study to what extent psychiatric disorders with postpartum onset (following childbirth) are early manifestations of [read the full story…]
This systematic literature review and meta-analysis conducted by researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will be of interest to all clinicians who treat paediatric bipolar disorder. Treatment decisions for young people have previously been based on extrapolation from adult trials, case reports, open label trials or expert opinion. This new study provides a [read the full story…]
New research shows people with bipolar disorder (and siblings of people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) are more likely to work in creative professions. The study, published in the November issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, lends further support to the commonly-held view that creativity is associated with mental disorder. Researchers from the Karolinska [read the full story…]
Aripiprazole (brand names Abilify and Aripiprex) is an atypical antipsychotic drug used to treat a number of mental health disorders including schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. This new guidance has been written by a group of Pan-European experts who have come together to review new clinical guidelines for the management of mania and the role of aripiprazole [read the full story…]
Alcohol misuse is common in people with mental health problems and the rates of drinking are particularly high in bipolar disorder. Studies show that the lifetime prevalence of substance use disorders is at least 40% in bipolar I patients (ref Cerullo et al). Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK have conducted a systematic review [read the full story…]
