Most people instinctively know that a positive outlook on life improves both physical and mental health, while a pessimistic view of life, on the other hand, relates frequently with depressive symptoms. What New York University researchers wanted to understand is if an optimistic attitude can be linked to the same brain regions that show irregularities […] Read more

Emerging evidence has shown that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) used in conjunction with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause bleeding of the lining of the digestive tract including the esophagus, stomach, or upper part of the small intestine–together called the upper gastrointestinal (GI). Researchers pooled data from 4 studies involving 153,000 patients. Patients taking […] Read more

Until recently all that was known about how antidepressants work is that they maintain a balance of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. What was not known was how antidepressants bind to brain cells for the antidepressant to work. Medications, called tricyclic antidepressants, help offset the imbalance of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine. They accomplish this by […] Read more

The symptoms of bipolar disorder include profound mood swings, from depression to vastly overblown excitement, energy, and elation, often accompanied by severe irritability. Both children and adults are affected by the disorder. Often the depressive phase of bipolar disorder is thought to be a period when the patient is at risk, but the manic phase […] Read more

Participants in a recent study of bipolar disorder patients, who experienced manic symptoms while also suffering from depression, did not benefit from antidepressant medication when it was given in addition to a mood stabilizer. A second study also indicated that a mood stabilizer alone appeared to be just as effective as when it was given along with an […] Read more

Parents who have bipolar disorder face more increased challenges than those parents who do not have the disorder. As a parent they have to contend with their mood and behavior instability, impulsivity and anger problems, all of which lead to parenting difficulties. The difficulties for bipolar parents are that dealing with their children often increases the […] Read more

Diagnosis of children with bipolar disorder has increased 4-fold in the past decade. The reason for the increase concerns researchers because it could be the result of one of two things. First, it could be a system correcting itself from a period when many children were under diagnosed. Second, it could be that physicians are misdiagnosing […] Read more

Seaneen describes herself as a manic depressive who, on some days, suffers from her bipolar disorder and on other days ‘just has it’. For her it is all a matter of perspective. She is quite articulate about her experience with Bipolar Disorder, which makes for interesting reading. Like many disorders, diseases, and conditions that cannot be […] Read more

The American Journal of Psychiatry reports that a child diagnosed with bipolar disorder has a 30% probability of a blood parent having the same disorder. Researchers were curious to determine if bipolar children were getting medical attention sooner and more often due to at least one parent having the disorder. Researchers decided to determine if a high correlation existed between children diagnosed […] Read more

BBC News reports that a University of Edinburgh study reveals that the brains of individuals with bipolar disorder shrink faster than expected. Researchers based their research on MRI scans of 20 people with the bipolar disorder and an equal number in a control group. Over time everyone’s brain showed a loss of brain tissue, but […] Read more