About Bipolar Disorder Research: Bipolar Disorder Research

Read about bipolar disorder research and what studies are showing about anxiety and depression. Depression not only affects the person who is going through it, but also everyone around them, including friends, family, loved ones, spouses, and children.

Research and treatment

Research carried out during the last five years on bipolar disorder has found that bipolar disorder can be caused by a genetic link. Among other genetic reasons' if a parent is a victim of bipolar there is a 15 to 25 percent chance of the children becoming victims of bipolar.

The current belief is that it is a biological disorder that occurs in a specific part of the brain and is due to a chemical imbalance within the brain. Function of the brain is controlled by neuro transmitters and an imbalance in one of these neuro transmitters' such as norepinephrine' serotonin and others may be the reason for bipolar. Mania occurs when these chemicals levels are too high and in contrast when the norepinephrine levels drop below normal levels' the patient may experience depression. As a biological disorder' it may have no reaction and may be activated on its own or it may be triggered by psychological stress and social circumstances.

Lithium has been tested to control the disorder. The two lithium salts used for bipolar disorder are mostly lithium carbonate and sometimes lithium citrate. It is believed that lithium also reduces the risk of suicide. However' when taking lithium' it is required that regular blood testing is done as persons taking lithium may have side effects such as blood pressure' water retention and constipation. The other side effect is that there are increased cases of goiter in patients taking lithium depending on dose and duration; However this can be prevented by thyroxine. Lithium is considered the preferred prophylactic drug for patients who have bipolar disorder and who are at high risk of committing suicide' who have severe depressions or depression combined with persistent ideas of attempts to commit suicide.

Second generation antidepressants taken with mood stabilizers are considered better as they induce mania less than older antidepressants.

Research also revealed that there could be as much as 67% relapse on bipolar patients who had discontinued antidepressants. However it was felt that combining mood stabilizers and antidepressants to prevent manic episodes' needed to be explored further.

Lamotrigine seems to have helped victims who did not respond well to other treatment.

Where other treatments have not been effective' electroconvulsive therapy is sometimes used to treat severe bipolar depression. Though this treatment is considered highly effective' doctors are reluctant to use unless as a last resort' as it can cause temporary memory loss. There were also complications of ECT' particularly when repeated treatment was needed.

Research continues and in the meantime it is the responsibility of everyone to be mindful of the symptoms and take remedial action to manage and control this disorder.