Bipolar affective disorder, often described as manic depression disorder, is a psychological disorder that puts the affected person through continuous changes in mood, creating depressive episodes, mania episodes, and/or mixed episodes. Bipolar affective disorder can be cured in a lot of different ways. The most successful treatments are a combination of medications and counseling or therapy.
Within the last five years there have been several substantial breakthroughs in research toward finding the true biological cause of bipolar affective disorder. It has resulted in several new bipolar affective disorder medications. Let us look at some of the popular bipolar affective disorder treatments.
Abilify, or Aripiprazole, is an atypical anti-psychotic. It is an approved drug for cure of manic and mixed bipolar disorder episodes since 2004 and an accepted method for bipolar disorder since 2005. While most anti-psychotic medications work by shutting down dopamine receptors in the brain, Abilify works by making the dopamine receptors behave more normally. This stabilization makes this latest medication the ideal treatment for bipolar affective disorder.
Celexa is an antidepressant that has been around for several years. However, it has been used with increasingly more frequency in the last few years for the treatment of bipolar affective disorder. This is due to the fact that Celexa has proven to be more selective than other anti-depressants. Usually antidepressants cause a manic episode, but Celexa does away with that. It has been a huge success as a maintenance medication for bipolar affective disorder.
Geodon is an anti-psychotic that works as a mood stabilizer in bipolar affective disorder patients. The most exciting thing about this latest mood stabilizer medication is that it is not associated with weight gain. It works in much the same way as Zyprexa, which has been proven to be a very successful medication for the treatment of bipolar affective disorder. However, unlike Zyprexa, side effects are fewer, milder, and do not include weight gain!
Wellbutrin, also sold as Zyban, was originally developed as a medication to help people stop smoking, in which it has been quite successful. In recent years, however, it has been discovered, quite by accident, that it is even more successful as an antidepressant when used as a medication for bipolar affective disorder. Chemically, it is unrelated to any other antidepressant, and it is unknown why it works so well with bipolar patients. One advantage to Wellbutrin is that it is a weight stable medication, meaning that patients will typically not see weight gain or weight loss.
With advances in technology and research, more effective medications for bipolar affective disorder are sure to be developed. Researchers, psychologists, and psychiatrists have been working towards a common objective of developing a suitable cure for bipolar affective disorder. It is advisable to consult your doctor, and keep track of the latest developments in medications for bipolar affective disorder. It will help you to understand the benefits of successful treatment for your bipolar affective disorder.
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