Posts Tagged ‘Bipolar Illness’

New Bipolar Treatment Proves Patients Can Control Their Mania

Australian researchers have discovered a new procedure which has let bipolar patients control their mood swings. In studies, so far, they have managed to cut the number of manic attacks that their patients suffer, by half.

Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings from periods of excitability to periods of depression and back again. Bipolar 1 disorder affects over two million U.S. citizens every year. In many people, the mood swings can be so great that it prevents them from being able to live a normal life. This roller coaster of emotions not only affects them, but it affects their friends and family as well.

The new procedure basically involves adding therapy to the bipolar treatments that the patients normally receive. In reality, therapy is not new as many physicians already believe that the most effective treatment for bipolar disease is to use medication in combination with prescriptions medication. But belief does not equal proof.

Researchers from the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria (MHRI) located in Melbourne, Australia, and is Australia’s largest independent psychiatric research center, have gone on record as believing that this study is the first one that proves bipolar patients can control their mania. The exciting impact of the Australian study is that it gives credence to the value of psychotherapy in treating bipolar illness.

The Melbourne study consisted of 84 bipolar patients. Half of the patients were given medication only. The other half were give the same medication but in addition attended weekly therapy sessions. The therapy sessions focused on teaching the participants to recognize the common symptoms that might trigger a depressive or manic episode. Symptoms such as

insomnia, a significant change in appetite, trouble concentrating, listlessness or tiredness, and other symptoms that are commonly recognized as indicating a bipolar event might be taking place.

The working theory behind the study is that if a bipolar sufferer is aware of an impending episode, he has the chance to do something about it. And the theory, in this case, proved to be correct. At the end of the study, the 42 patients taking the therapy, had only 50% of the manic or depressive episodes of the 42 patients that were treated with medication alone.

The study effectively demonstrates that therapy which emphasizes and teaches the patient how to plan his life, as much as possible, around regular daily activities and stable relationships, can help them to suffer less manic/depressive attacks and to recover faster from the ones that they do experience.

Unfortunately, long-term therapy is not cheap and many insurance companies will either not cover it or cover only a portion of it. Hopefully, studies like this will help to push the insurance companies into recognizing that therapy is a valid and useful treatment for bipolar disease and may even help to decrease their long term costs.

This study is also important and encouraging for many sufferers who don’t want to be entirely dependent on prescription medication. It gives them a sense of hope that they can exert a portion of control over their lives that up until now has been lacking.

Bipolar Disorder Research – Recent Revelations Of Medical Science

Bipolar Disorder is better known by its former name, Manic Depression; a mental illness where a person manifest mood swings which presents itself in cycles where one switches between depressed, manic and a normal mood. In the U.S.A. over two percent of people are known to suffer from this illess, where thirty percent of all hospitilisations are for psychiatric patients in a single year.

Psychiatrists and psychologists have not come up with the actual cause of Bipolar Disorder as of yet. Researches have, however, made steady progress in understanding the brain and how it functions, the actual causes of many mental illness including Bipolar Disorder. This illness is currently understood to be caused by many factors which include biological, emotional, environmental and physical reasons.

It has been discovered that some bipolar patients have additional brain cells which is one theory for a biological cause. Research shows that those with Bipolar had thirty percent more brain cells which send signals to others than is normal. There is still speculation as to whether it is the brain cells which are responsible for regulating our moods, our responses to pleasure and also our responses to stress.

The disorder tends to run in families, although some that are diagnosed have no family history of the illness. This points to the nature of hereditary as being one of the causes of this mentall illness, so genetics could actually be a cause.

What has received lots of attention is the neurotransmitter system as being one of the causes of Bipolar Disorder. For decades, researchers have shown a link between neurotransmitters and mood disorders. A chemical imbalance in the brain of these neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and seratonin, that is any high or low levels can create this disorder. When an imbalance in levels between other neurotransmitters occurs this creates sensitivity or illness. This imbalance is also known to be hereditary.

Psychologists widely believe that the biological causes which trigger bipolar only makes a person more prone and increases the likelihood of getting disorder, and not necessary cause it. Once a person comes across situations such as environmental factors, a sudden tragedy or a difficult childhood, which could trigger the illness, the biological tendencies come into action and Bipolar develops. Such triggers could be from child abuse, rape, sexual abuse, a death in the family, being in a controlling relationship, or living in violent environment. Mood cycling in relation to Bipolar Disorder works in the same way. Triggers from emotional situations, the environment, stress or tragic circumstances could start mood changes between manic and depressive episodes.

Alcohol and drug abuse can be a cause of this illness, as the effects can trigger mood changes. These cases are difficult for a doctor to determine when the actual bipolar started, whether it was before or after the abuse. When someone suffers from a mood disorder they may turn to alcohol or drugs to get rid of these bad feelings – they can escape from it all. Continuous research is done to find answers and infomation which can be collated from areas like genetics, neurology, psychology and psychiatry so we can gain more knowledge about all the mental illness including Bipolar. Technology is always advancing so it may soon come to light, the answers to all these theories. Until then we must wait for an answer so that better and more successful treatment becomes available, and maybe, even a cure.

The Bipolar Disorder

[#3: Edit Options>MightyAdsense>Adsense Code]

If you’re seriously interested in knowing about bipolar disorder, you need to think beyond the basics. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know about what it is to be bipolar.

Bipolar illness has two distinct forms. Bipolar I disorder, previously called manic-depressive illness, characterizes patients who experience episodes of mania and depression or mania only. Any single episode can be manic, depressive, or mixed. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) gives specific criteria for both mania and depression. A diagnosis of mania does not require a set duration of illness or impairment. For a diagnosis of depression, however, the symptoms must last at least two weeks.

A patient who has mainly depressions and a few hypomanic episodes (the same symptoms as for mania but without social impairment) would receive a diagnosis of bipolar II, a form much more common in women. These illnesses typically start with a depressive episode.

Thirty percent of patients who have bipolar I illness first experience symptoms as teenagers. In the usual course, episodes of illness are followed by periods of wellness (euthymia), at first punctuated by years but later settling into a pattern that is often seasonal. The depression can become very chronic and unremitting; suicide is the most serious potential consequence. Despite new and successful treatments, about 12% of manic-depressives commit suicide, almost always during the depressive stage of the illness.

Research has shown that genetic factors play a significant role in the etiology of bipolar disorder. Biochemical, neurophysiologic, and sleep abnormalities also have been reported, but none seems specific to bipolar disorder. It is not known how recurrent unipolar depression, bipolar I disorder, and bipolar II disorder are related. In addition, many studies identify bipolar patients but do not specify whether the patient is in the depressive, manic, or mixed state, much less whether the patient is manic or hypomanic when studied.

The information about bipolar disorder presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about this disorder or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

Bipolar disorder is a recurring illness. A few people are lucky enough to have only two or three episodes, but the average patient has more than 10. Studies have found that the depressive episodes in bipolar disorder are shorter than the depressive episodes in unipolar illness. Unfortunately, however, some bipolar patients have chronic depressions. Between 15% and 20% of bipolar patients experience rapid cycling, defined as four or more episodes of depression, mania, or hypomania in a year.

Psychological treatment cannot be accomplished when a patient with bipolar illness is in a manic state. The patient will be highly talkative, irritating, sexually aroused, overconfident, expansive, and completely lacking in insight and good judgment. Because of the uplifted mood, the patient will feel no need for treatment and will vehemently refuse assistance. This is particularly evident with respect to a spouse. If in your practice you see a spouse who suddenly becomes extremely derogatory and accusatory toward the partner, consider the possibility of mania. A history of depressive episodes will help you make the diagnosis. Treatment, usually on an inpatient basis, is imperative for a patient with mania.

The best treatment for a manic episode is lithium, the oldest mood stabilizer. Neuroleptics also are extremely helpful for treating mania. How to treat the depression, how-ever, is still open to question. Although most experts agree that it is best to try to avoid antidepressants, or to use them short term, this is difficult to do in practice. The monoamine oxidase inhibitor tranylcypromine has been shown to be more efficacious than the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine. The other MAO drugs, phenelzine and isocarboxazid, also seem useful. Patients need to be on a special diet with these drugs. Clearly, patients do better in the treatment of their depressive episode if they also take a mood stabilizer.

In addition to treatment for the mania and depression, a mood stabilizer is indicated for long-term maintenance. A recent 40-year longitudinal study of bipolar illness found that mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics (in this case, mostly clozapine) proved to be the best combination to prevent suicide.

Now you can be a confident expert on bipolar disorder. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have something to bring to the table next time you join a discussion on this particular issue.