Currently, lithium is FDA approved for both acute mania and for maintenance bipolar treatment, but not for bipolar depression. Lithium is dirt-cheap and the size of its database for efficacy in bipolar disorder is unmatched by any other medication, although many of these studies are old.

In my experience, there are five common reactions from patients with a new diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and here are some suggestions for how to respond constructively.

Some patients complain bitterly about depression and dysphoria, but they don’t tell you anything about the other half of their lives—the upswings of mood and energy—so you may not realize the need to suspect bipolar illness.

More than a decade ago, researchers introduced the concept of “vascular depression,” a specific type of depression associated with cerebrovascular disease and loss of blood to the brain in older adults.

The treatment of bipolar depression remains challenging. Only two medications are FDA approved for the condition—quetiapine (Seroquel) and olanzapine (Zyprexa)/fluoxetine (Prozac) combination—both of which cause weight gain and sedation, among other side effects.

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

They used to be called “depot” antipsychotics, but the powers that be have renamed them “long acting injectables” (LAIs), presumably to help remove some of the stigma associated with their use. But no matter what you call them, suddenly every drug company is racing to introduce its own LAI neuroleptic.

An index of the topics covered in 2010.

Psychiatrists often have patients who come in bearing long lists of medications for various comorbid conditions. Is there any evidence that we should evaluate and treat such patients differently than patients without medical illnesses?

Medication discontinuation is alarmingly common among patients with schizophrenia—it may range anywhere from 42% to 74%.