title: Acute and maintenance treatments for bipolar depression.
abstract: Patients with bipolar disorder are symptomatic about half of the time, experiencing depression more often than mania/hypomania. Because patients usually seek treatment during a depressive episode (rather than a manic episode), bipolar depression is commonly misdiagnosed as unipolar depression. Providing an accurate and timely bipolar depression diagnosis is critical for the proper treatment of the patient. Some FDA-approved treatments are helpful during acute and maintenance phases of therapy, but there is a significant unmet need for effective bipolar depression treatments with favorable side-effect profiles. Newer agents offer the promise of improvements in tolerability, but additional research is needed to actualize this promise into better treatments for patients struggling with bipolar depression.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Bipolar Disorders Clinic, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
authors.forename: Terence A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Ketter
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D054833:Isoindoles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069056:Lurasidone Hydrochloride; D000077152:Olanzapine; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines; D005473:Fluoxetine; D054833:Isoindoles; D000069056:Lurasidone Hydrochloride; D000077152:Olanzapine; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D013844:Thiazoles