Bipolar Disorders

Although a quarter of patients presenting with depressive symptoms in primary care have bipolar disorder, a misdiagnosis of major depressive disorder is common, according to a poster presented at Psych Congress 2020.

Despite guidelines against their use as first-line therapy for bipolar disorder, antidepressants were frequently prescribed to patients for initial treatment, according to an analysis presented at Psych Congress 2020.

When used as adjunctive therapy with the mood stabilizers lithium or valproate, the schizophrenia drug lumateperone 42 mg improved depressive symptoms in patients with bipolar depression experiencing major depressive episodes, Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. announced. 

Up to 2 years of treatment with lurasidone improved manic symptoms in children and adolescents with bipolar depression, according to a poster presented at Psych Congress 2020.

Treatment with a central stimulant may reduce the risk of suicide attempt and nonsuicidal self-injury in adults with bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. 

A study recently published in BMC Psychiatry found that antipsychotic dosage reduction in patients with bipolar and major depressive disorders was associated with an increase in all-cause and mental health-related hospitalizations.

In this occasional feature, members of the Psych Congress Steering Committee and faculty answer questions asked by attendees at Psych Congress meetings. QUESTION: What criteria differentiates between bipolar disorder with psychotic features and the bipolar type of schizoaffective…

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted Alkermes’ New Drug Application (NDA) for ALKS 3831, a combination of olanzapine and samidorphan, the company announced.

An interactive voice application’s assessment of patient well-being through analysis of their speech was highly comparable with physicians’ tracking of patient well-being, according to a study published online in PLOS One.

Psych Congress Steering Committee member Vladimir Maletic, MD, MS, discusses how frequently patients can cycle between depression and mania.