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In the last post, we saw how:
Other causes of mood disorders were studied, as were helplessness and cognitive theory.
The frequency of BAD is 1% globally.
- There are long-term and short-term therapies for BAD, as well as treatments for the distinct periods in which the disorder manifests.
https://www.tiktok.com/@mikb_itme/video/7109966696516980010?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7146615854787839493
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Welcome to Medic Vibes, where we discuss mental health disorders and make sense of them. Dr Ebingo Kigigha is a medical doctor (aspiring psychiatrist) and creative person (illustration and music). This has been our routine for two consecutive months. This month will be dedicated to BAD or Bipolar Affective Disorder. In the first month, we discussed Depression, and in the subsequent month, anxiety. We are done looking at Twitter Posts and now we are moving to Tic Tok posts.
Announcement!!!
We are moving to our new account after this month's topic. Follow us here 
In this post, we are looking at this tweet that talks about Epidemiology of BAD. To learn more just keep scrolling down. You can also skip to the key point of the post if you which or go to the conclusion to get the summary.
Patients who are bipolar have these major depressive episodes and manic episodes. Mood disorders are also called affective disorders 2 months ago, we talked about depression, among the types of depression is Major Depressive Disorder which is otherwise known as unipolar depression.
Diagnostic Criteria
Bipolar I disorder
The diagnostic and statistical Manual for Mental Health has specific criteria for BAD I they are:
A. The patient meets the criteria for Mania
B. The fact that the patient’s mania or depression can not be explained through other causes of mania
Bipolar I Disorder, Recurrent. The issues about defining the end of an episode
of depression also apply to defining the end of an episode of mania. Manic episodes are
considered distinct when they are separated by at least 2 months without significant
symptoms of mania or hypomania.
Defining recurrent BAD I it relies on knowing the end of an episode. Having the episodes separate by 2 months is what makes them countable as separate so long s there is no hypomania or mania in between these times.
Bipolar II Disorder
These criteria were made to stop the incorrect characterisation of hypomania and wrongly diagnosing patients who have major depression with BAD II. It is usually hard to distinguish between Euthymia from hypomania in those who have been depressed for a long time.
Lithium In BAD
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There have been many years of studies done to try and understand the way Lithium acts in the body. What we know is that recurrent cases of Bipolar Disorder, it helps prevent it. The reason why studies of BAD and lithium is so complex is that there are no animals that can have bipolar affective disorder that can be studied and so there is complete reliance on live human studies.
There have been so many studies done to ascertain this function but non of them have come up with an answer about this wonder drug. What the psychiatry research community has been able to deduce is that there are signals on a cellular level . The key nodes that have been named are the GSK, CREB, and the sodium Potassium ATPase pump. The studies that have yielded some findings are those done on genes and drugs that affect genetic activities but not much is still known because the sample size has been so small.
There is a unique population of people who respond to lithium and knowing this has presented a unique opportunity to us so we can learn more about this great drug and the periodic table’s group one element.
There is a big issue with Lithium, what we know about the drug is that it is very efficacious but the side effects of this drug affect a good number of the patients placed on it. This usually necessitates the drug is stopped. Among those who show normal responses to the drug only about a third of them get the full benefits of this drug. There is also the observation that this drug may have differences in the way people respond to the drug based on the time of the day.
The fact that this happens has made them for stimulating discussion and studies to be done around the topic
Some factors are seen as stable traits: family history, the clinical history before treatment and the other conditions that may be affecting the patient concurrently.
If a person is going to respond to lithium treatment, there is usually a clinical history of episodes where the condition would have before treatment was commenced, family members with BAD, and few co-existing psychiatric conditions. The issue with these parameters is that it becomes hard to evaluate these presentations when the person has had just a few presentations before treatments when the patient has a small family and the like.
All in all, lithium, is a well know psychiatric medication that can be used to compare other medications. The world still yet to figure out this drug. More will need to be done to understand the response to this medication.
Tips for treatment
Phototherapy
Phototherapy has been used since 1984 as a treatment for seasonal affective disorder. The disorder is characterised by depression in the winter. The mean age of this condition is 40 years and women make up 75% of those who suffer from this condition.
The patient sits in front of the lightbox as it is placed on a table and the light displacement is between about 2000 to 10000 lux. This is done for 1 or 2 hours each day. Some producers of the product have made a helmet with light visors that people can wear. This type allows the patent to still be mobile
Phototherapy is usually handled well. The newer models are not as high-intensity as the older ones and have filters. The patients are not to look directly into the light source. Phototherapy also has the side effect of mania or hyp mania as seen in other antidepressants. Other than for seasonal affective disorder, this treatment can be used for sleep disorders. It is also used for people who are uncomfortable working shifts. There are some studies that have shown that this therapy can be used for jet lag. So studies are beginning to see this therapy be useful in a specific form of OCD that has seasonal features.
Hive Stories
Read this post here
Questions
- What did you learn about mood disorders?
- What did you learn about Bipolar disorder?
- What did you learn about the use of lithium?
Conclusion
There are diagnostic features that distinguish BAD I and II that are constructed by the psychiatric community on the DSM.
Lithium is a very effecaious drug but a lot still needs to be done in understanding its use.
Photo therapy is used in treating modd disorders, particularly seasonal affective disorder or SAD.
I hope that you learned a lot from this post.
To book me for illustration gigs click Here
References
- Kaplan-Sadocks-Comprehensive-Textbook-Psychiatry
- Page demarcations made with Inkscape.org