title: Pharmacologic treatment of pediatric bipolar disorder.
abstract: Bipolar disorder (BPD) is being diagnosed with increasing frequency in the pediatric population as the phenomenology of this disorder is becoming more clearly delineated. Early diagnosis and treatment of pediatric BPD is important to minimize psychosocial disability and improve prognosis. Traditional mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotic agents are frequently used to treat BPD in youth, and there are emerging data to support their use in this population. This article provides a review of the literature on appropriate pharmacologic treatment strategies for BPD in children and adolescents. The complex treatment issues of comorbid BPD and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder also are addressed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, 260 Stetson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA. jayasree.nandagopal@uc.edu
authors.forename: Jayasree J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Nandagopal
authors.forename: Melissa P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: DelBello
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kowatch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires