Highlights

Drug Approval

Quetiapine (Seroquel) has been approved for treatment of bipolar depression. Quetiapine is now the only drug approved for treating both manic and depressive states of bipolar disorder.

Drug Warning

The anti-seizure drug lamotrigine (Lamictal) can cause cleft lip and palate birth defects if taken during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents

• The course of bipolar disorder is different in young people than in adults, indicates a 2006 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The study found that symptoms in children and adolescents last longer and fluctuate more rapidly than those in adults.
• Atypical antipsychotic drugs are being increasingly prescribed to pediatric patients despite the lack of evidence concerning their long-term safety and effectiveness, notes a 2006 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Economic Burden of Bipolar Disorder

Major depressive disorder may be six times more common than bipolar disorder, but bipolar disorder costs twice as much in lost productivity, according to a 2006 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Much of this lost productivity is due to poor functioning in the workplace, which is caused more by the disorder’s depressive episodes than its manic ones.

Collaborative Care for Patients

A disease management model similar to those used for treating diabetes and asthma may be the best way to help patients with bipolar disorder control their symptoms, stick to their medication, and improve their social relations and quality of life. This treatment model includes patient education by nurses, as well as pharmacological treatment by psychiatrists.

Bipolar Disorder and High Blood Pressure

Patients with bipolar disorder may be at increased risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), suggests a 2006 study in the Journal of Affective Disorders. Researchers found a higher rate of hypertension among people with bipolar disorder, and those with anxiety, than in the general population.

Review Date: 12/21/2006
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.

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