Prescribing lithium for bipolar disorder: are we too scared?

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Deenan Edward and Suhana Ahmed summarise a Scottish study of prescribing for bipolar disorder between 2009-2016, which identified a clear trend towards decreasing lithium use.

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Improving care for people with bipolar disorder: meeting unmet needs

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Leela Sathyaputri and Jess Fiedorowicz write their debut elf blog on a narrative review of the recent bipolar disorder literature entitled: “Areas of uncertainties and unmet needs in bipolar disorders: clinical and research perspectives”.

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Pregnancy and bipolar disorder: international prescribing consensus?

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Dean Connolly looks at an international study which asks: Is there consensus across evidence-based guidelines for the psychotropic drug management of bipolar disorder during the perinatal period?

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Lamotrigine for “Borderline Personality Disorder”: should we prescribe it? #BIGSPD19

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Keir Harding prepares for the #BIGSPD19 conference by reading Mike Crawford et al’s recent RCT on the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of lamotrigine in borderline personality disorder.

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“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen”. Depression and bipolar disorder in people with intellectual disabilities

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Kathryn Mitchell and Stephen Moore summarise a recent prospective cohort study in the British Journal of Psychiatry, which looks at the incidence of unipolar and bipolar depression, and mania in adults with intellectual disabilities.

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Antidepressants for bipolar depression: weighing up the benefits and harms

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Murtada Alsaif considers a recent systematic review on the safety and efficacy of adjunctive second-generation antidepressant therapy with a mood stabiliser or an atypical antipsychotic in acute bipolar depression.

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Evidence-based guidelines for treating bipolar disorder

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Joseph Hayes summarises the recent British Association for Psychopharmacology guidelines for the treatment of bipolar disorder, and compares their recommendations with those found in the NICE bipolar disorder guidance from 2014.

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Psychotropic medication in pregnancy: new evidence may help achieve a safe balance

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Joanne Wallace considers a recent health technology assessment on the risks and benefits of psychotropic medication in pregnancy, which supports previous associations between valproate and adverse child outcomes.

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Mental illness, challenging behaviour and psychotropic drugs #UCLJournalClub

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Join us at 2-3pm on Wednesday 18th May for the #UCLJournalClub, which will be live broadcasted on YouTube and live tweeted by the @LearningDisElf

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Commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs: do they work?

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John Baker summarises a review of commonly prescribed medication that covers seven psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, methylphenidate and cholinesterase inhibitors.

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