St John's Wort, an herbal remedy was widely touted as a wonderful addendum or cure for Bipolar Disorder. Today's news says this "ST. JOHN'S WORT EQUIVALENT TO PLACEBO FOR TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION." Patients with depression respond equally well to St. John's wort and placebo, according to study results presented here during the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. http://pharmacotherapy.medscape.com/2163... Read it Here
Not every medication works, or works the way it was meant to. Research is continuously underway, searching for new medications for people with mood disorders. One new antidepressant, reboxetine is on the way and expected to receive RDA approval later this year. Reboxetine, which targets the brain chemical norepinephrine, may be approved by the FDA for use in the United States later this year. The new drug represents a whole new approach, because currently popular antidepressants Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft target the neurotransmitter serotonin. Researchers say reboxetine may be particularly helpful for depressed patients who haven't responded to other therapies and for those whose condition is severe.
Dr. Joshua Freedman, M.D., psychiatrist and Medical Director for mental health at Mediconsult, says having a new treatment for depression is helpful. "There is wide individual variation in response and tolerance to antidepressants, and the more choices available, the greater the likelihood of finding a good fit." Click on: http://newsletter.mediconsult.com/cgi-bi...
A medication currently being studied as for treatment resistant bipolar disorder is Mexiletine. Mexilitene is a medication with antiarrhythmic, anticonvulsant and analgesic properties. A small study with a small number of patients concluded that mexitilene may be effective and safe in patients with highly treatment resistant, chronic bipolar disorder, especially for those affected who had failed to respond or were intolerant to lithium, valproic acid or carbamazepine. Read more at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...
Compared to the medications available when my mother was diagnosed with Manic Depression in 1950, and even to those available to me when I was diagnosed in 1978, doctors have a vast array of medicines to choose from today. My mom was treated with ECT (electro-convulsive therapy of the old school), heavy anti-psychotic meds and later lithium. I began with lithium, an ongoing and ever changing tricyclic antidepressant, mellaril (an anti-psychotic med) and later ECT. As the years passed new medicines were introduced and my regime was changed many times, although I continued with lithium for 21 years.
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