There is evidence of cognitive impairment that persists in the remission phase of bipolar disorder; however, the extent of the deficits that occur from the first onset of the disorder remains unclear. This is the first systematic review on cognitive functioning in the early stages of bipolar I disorder. The aim of the study was to identify the patterns and degree of cognitive impairment that ex...

OBJECTIVES Considerable preclinical biochemical and behavioral data suggest that protein kinase C inhibition would bring about antimanic effects. Notably, the structurally highly dissimilar antimanic agents lithium and valproate, when administered in therapeutically relevant paradigms, attenuate protein kinase C [corrected] function. There is currently only one relatively selective protein kina...

of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) in major depression, the precise nature of alterations in the 5-HT system that underlie manic symptoms still remains elusive. For instance, the studies of cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels, platelet 5-HT uptake or tritiated imipramine binding sites in people with mania have yielded inconsistent results (see Shiah & Yatham for...

Ziprasidone is an atypical antipsychotic with a unique receptor-binding profile. Currently, ziprasidone is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the acute treatment of psychosis in schizophrenia and mania in bipolar disorder. When compared to certain other atypical antipsychotics, ziprasidone appears to have a relatively benign side effect profile, especially as regards metabolic ...

The hallucinations and illusions of melancholic monomania (lypemania of Esquirol) are characterized by fixity, intensity, and tenacity, as well as by expression, which distinguish them from those observed in acute delirium and mania. The integrity of the reasoning power, excepting always some obscured portions, "permits lis in most cases to analyse the phenomena and follow their modifications w...

Over the last few years, the use of valproate in psychiatry has increased considerably. With the advent of oral loading dose strategy, its role in rapid treatment of acute mania has been demonstrated. The intravenous formulation of valproate, while retaining the rapidity of action of oral loading, also avoids some of the adverse effects of the oral preparation. Moreover, reports are pouring in ...

Until now, in various parts of the world, no consensus has been reached with regard to the treatment of acute mania. Controlled clinical trials have at last provided irrefutable evidence for the effectiveness of lithium, which had long been used alone, as well as that of divalproate or its derivatives and, to a lesser extent, carbamazepine (1). In Europe, haloperidol is still the reference comp...