Health Information

Bipolar Disorder

For the Professional

• Making Treatment for Bipolar Disorder a Family Affair
  Mounting evidence shows that patients with bipolar disorder benefit significantly when their families are involved in treatment. Despite the challenges entailed, clinicians can successfully implement a family-focused approach if they’re willing, flexible, and patient.
  
  
• Antidepressants for Bipolar Disorder
  According to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, bipolar disorder is characterized by marked mood swings between mania and depression. Bipolar disorder can cause significant personal distress and social dysfunction. This article reviews efficacy of antidepressants, risk of manic switching, relapse, and clinical implications.
  
  
• Blood Tests for Bipolar I Disorder: Quite a Future Indeed
  Columnist John J. Medina, PhD discusses the progress of Internet-boosted research that is being used to create a simple, objective blood test to identify mood disorders.
  
  
• Psychiatric Times' Bipolar Articles
  Read archived articles addressing bipolar disorder.
  
  
• Clinically Useful Psychiatric Scales: Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS)
  The Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS) was developed by Ronald Pies, MD and was later refined and tested by S. Nassir Ghaemi, MD, MPH and colleagues. The 19 question items on the English version of the BSDS were based on those questions that Pies found most helpful in detecting not only severe cases of bipolar disorder but also patients who fall into the �softer� end of the bipolar spectrum.

For the Patient and Caregiver

• Ask the Expert on Bipolar Disorder
  Read archived responses given by Dr. Ronald Pies - a clinical professor at Tufts University and popular Psychiatric Times columnist - to consumer inquiries on bipolar disorder.

• Bipolar Disorder FAQs
  View some of the most common questions on this disorder, and read the responses given by Dr. Paul Keck, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine, during an interview.

• "Healthier You" Articles
  Information on bipolar disorder released by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the National Institutes of Health.

• Interactive Quiz: Could You Be Manic?
  Take this interactive quiz developed by the National Institute of Mental Health.

• Support Information
  Additional information on bipolar disorder, including support groups and organizations.