Manic Depression
Treatments For Manic-depressive Illness
Lithium has been the treatment of choice for manic-depressive illness for several decades. Lithium is a trace element found in plants and in mineral rocks. While there has been a great deal of success in treating manic-depressive patients with lithium and returning them to a relatively normal life, researchers are not sure how it works. It is a nonaddictive and nonsedating medication, but it must be carefully monitored for possibly dangerous side effects.
More recently, newer medicines have been used to treat bipolar manic depression disorder. Carbamazepine and valproate are two anticonvulsants that have been particularly useful with patients who do not respond to lithium. These medications also have to be monitored for proper dosages. Antidepressants may be necessary during severe depressive episodes but may push a patient into the manic state. In severe cases, hospitalization and even electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be necessary.
The psychiatric community generally favors a combined treatment of medicine, along with an educational program for the patient and family, and psychological counseling to help the patient adjust to the medication and learn how to deal with the illness. Because this disorder can be debilitating and deadly (suicide risk is 30 times greater), recognition and accurate diagnosis is essential. Sufferers often "need help to get help," and observant family and friends can play an important role in this area.
Resources
Books
Amchin, Jess. Psychiatric Diagnosis: A Biopsychosocial Approach Using DSM-III-R. Washington, DC: Psychiatric Press, 1991.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-IV. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM IV-TR. 4th ed., text revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000.
Goodwin, Frederick K., and Kay Redfield Jamison. Manic-Depressive Illness. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Jamison, Kay Redfield. Touched with Fire. New York: Free Press, 1993.
Jefferson, James W., and John H. Greist. Lithium and Manic Depression: A Guide. Madison, WI: Madison Institute of Medicine, 1999.
Maj, Mario. Bipolar Disorders. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002.
Papolos, Demitri F., and Janice Papolos. Overcoming Depression. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.
Torrey, E. Fuller, and Michael B. Knable. Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families, and Providers. New York: Basic Books, 2002.
Periodicals
Carroll, B.J. "Brain Mechanisms In Manic Depression." Clinical Chemistry: International Journal of Laboratory 40, no. 2 (1994): 303-308.
Hyman, S.E. "The Genetics of Mental Illness: Implications for Practice." Bulletin of the World Health Organization 78 (April 2000): 455-463.
Sajatovic, M. "Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Older Adults." International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 17, no. 9 (2002): 865-873.
Vita Richman
Additional topics
Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Macrofauna to MathematicsManic Depression - Diagnosis, Emil Kraepelin, Treatments For Manic-depressive Illness