Bipolar disorder: a review of current U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved pharmacotherapy

Abstract

DIAGNOSISThe diagnosis of BD is generally based on clinical signs and symptoms of the patient. A detailed history and thorough physical as well as mental status examination is essential for the diagnosis. More often, it is necessary to collect the patient's behavioral history from family members and ABSTRACT Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic disorder which usually has its onset in early adulthood. At one end of the spectrum is depression and at other is mania. Like many psychiatric illnesses, it is not treatable but its symptoms are completely manageable with medications. Commonly used drugs are mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics along with adjunctive medications such as anxiolytics and antidepressants. In general, a combination of these drugs is used for treatment. These drugs have significant adverse effects which add to the burden of the disease. Presently, there are 11 US Food and Drug Administration -approved drugs for management of acute mania, 3 for bipolar depression and 7 for bipolar maintenance. This review article details the use of these drugs in BD.

Lurasidone in the Treatment of Bipolar Depression: Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews

“…In contrast, evidence in support of the use of at least some of the second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) mono- or add-on therapy either for MDD [ 12 , 13 ] or bipolar depression [ 14 – 18 ] is increasing over the time, though additional safe and effective Food and Drug Administration- (FDA-) approved SGAs for bipolar depression are solicited [ 19 ].…”