Bipolar Disorder and the Essay example -- Biology Essays Research Pape

Bipolar Disorder and the state of war on DrugsBipolar disorder, also known as, manic-depressive illness, is a fountainhead disorder that results in unusual shifts in a persons mood, energy, and ability to function. more than than two million American adults (or, about one per cent of the race aged eighteen and older in any given year) be afflicted by this affective disorder (1). Yet, because it cannot be revealed by a blood test or other physiological means, patients may contract for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Fortunately, once one is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the keen symptoms of the disease can be effectively mitigated by atomic number 3 and certain anticonvulsant drugs, the most popular being Depakote (also known as valproate). However, not all drugs are created equal. The New York Times recently eat up an article elucidating that Lithium, the prime(prenominal) drug utilized to treat bi-polar disorder, is more conducive to preventing suicide in people who have manic-depressive illness than Depakote, what has move the most commonly prescribed drug (2).. The new study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, found that patients taking Depakote were 2.7 times as likely to kill themselves as those taking atomic number 3 (2).. Although studies conducted prior to this have concluded that lithium could in fact prevent suicide, this report is the first to compare suicide and attempted suicide rates in lithium and Depakote users (2). Approximately fifty years ago, lithium opened the modern while of psychopharmacology (3). Its therapeutic effect is indeed very rapid. Administered in the form of lithium carbonate, it is most potent in treating the manic phase of a bipolar affective disorder once the mania... ...ring of patients and critical treatment experimentation and evaluation may help physicians soon find peace. Sources Cited 1. National Institute of cordial Health Bipolar Disorderhttp//%20www.nim h.nih.gov/publicat/bipolar.cfm 2. New York Times, 9/17/03 An ripened Bipolar Drug Is Linked to Fewer Suicides in a report (Denise Grady) 3. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2001. Long-term Clinical Effectiveness of Lithium aid Treatment in Types I and II Bipolar Disorders (Leonardo Tondo, MD)http//bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/ spacious/178/41/s184%20 4. Physiology of Behavior (textbook, 7th edition, Neil R. Carlson) 5. American Psychiatric Association. manage Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients With Bipolar Disorder Part B Background discipline and Review of Available Evidence http//www.psych.org/clin_res/bipolar_revisebook_5.cfm