Muneer Ather
Department Psychiatry, Islamic International Medial College, Pakistan Railway Hospital, Rawalpindi.
J Pak Med Assoc. 2013 Jun;63(6):763-9.
Bipolar disorder is a chronic mood disorder which usually has its onset in adolescence and young adulthood. The disorder is typified by a remitting and relapsing course. While remissions are often partial in nature, relapses are frequent and manifested as manic, mixed, hypomanic and depressive episodes. Rapid cycling is a particularly disabling form of bipolar disorder, characterised by four or more episodes in a 12-month period. Bipolar disorder inevitably causes impairment in social and occupational functioning. Many patients experience severe hopelessness and suicidal ideation and the disorder is associated with one of the highest mortality rates of all psychiatric disorders. The treatment of bipolar depression is particularly challenging and numerous patients achieve incomplete benefit even with complex psychopharmacological strategies. In recent years, many new pharmacological options have become available for the treatment of bipolar depression and the field has seen significant progress. In order to achieve better outcome for the patients, it is mandatory that treating physicians have an up to date knowledge of recent advances in the management of this condition.
双相情感障碍是一种慢性心境障碍，通常在青少年期和青年期发病。该障碍的特点是病情缓解与复发交替。虽然缓解往往不完全，但复发频繁，表现为躁狂、混合、轻躁狂和抑郁发作。快速循环型是双相情感障碍的一种特别致残的形式，其特征是在12个月内出现四次或更多次发作。双相情感障碍不可避免地会导致社交和职业功能受损。许多患者会经历严重的绝望和自杀念头，并且该障碍与所有精神障碍中最高的死亡率之一相关。双相抑郁的治疗尤其具有挑战性，即使采用复杂的心理药理学策略，许多患者也只能获得不完全的疗效。近年来，有许多新的药物治疗选择可用于双相抑郁的治疗，该领域取得了显著进展。为了使患者获得更好的治疗效果，治疗医生必须掌握该疾病管理方面的最新进展知识。
