The Treatment Of Bipolar Disorder - 1960 Words

Bipolar Disorder Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that comprises of both maniac episode and ordinarily one or more depressing episodes. The disorder has a lifetime occurrence of 1-2%. Psychological factors such as family environment, life events social support and cognitive style play an integral role on the onset, course, and the whole expression of the ailment. Pharmacology of the disorder is multifarious and speedily evolving field. The development of new methods of treatment has greatly assisted refine concepts of the disorder subtypes and generated significant new management choices. Although mood stabilizers in conjunction with antipsychotics may arguably be the traditional medical options for bipolar disorder, other alternative†¦show more content†¦However, the difficulty of administering mood stabilizers for instance, due to the differential efficacy spectra across disorder phases and differential drug interaction is perhaps as challenging with antipsychotics. Lithium Lithium is generally well absorbed, with a bioavailability that nears 100%. It has a reasonable volume of distribution of approximately 1 L/kg and half-life of roughly24 hours. Maintained-release formulations can reduce peak serum concentrations and commonly have clinically significant pharmacokinetic interactions with lithium (Su, Ryder, Li, Wu, Fox, and Solenberg 2004). First identified in 1940 by John Cade, an Australian researcher, earlier experiments with lithium showed it to have almost miraculous results on a group of individuals with established mania. Some of these individuals had spent several years in mental institutions. After lithium initiation, the symptoms disappeared and they were discharged. Despite its success, it was not until 1970 that the drug received FDA approval to be employed in the treatment of the disorder. Lithium is widely available in both sugar-free liquid forms and pill (Su, et al., 2004). Benefits In psychiatry, Lithium may as well be the well-studied medication. It has been documented to be effective in