Mania Carlat Reports | Carlat Publishing

Expert Q&A

Personality Changes Later in Life: Diagnostic and Treatment Considerations

From The Carlat Geriatric Psychiatry Report, Diagnostic Challenges in Older Adults

CGPR: What is the course of personality disorders as people age? Dr. Tampi: Personality usually doesn’t change much. People with borderline personality disorder (BPD), for example, don’t usually experience significant changes once they reach middle age. Experiences over a person’s lifespan may teach them skills that blunt their sharp edges, but

Article

Antipsychotic Maintenance: How Long is Enough?

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Esketamine

Your 58-year-old patient started risperidone to augment lithium 2 years ago. It got her out of a severe mania, and she has stayed well since then. Now she’s worried about long-term risks and wondering if it’s time to come off. Augmentation with an atypical antipsychotic may offer rapid relief from mania and depression, but antipsychotics’ potenti

Expert Q&A

Thyroid Augmentation in Bipolar Disorder

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Thyroid and Mental Illness

TCPR: When do you use thyroid augmentation in bipolar disorder?Dr. Kelly: It may be useful for treatment-resistant bipolar depression, and I emphasize treatment-resistant because that is where the empiric support lies. Now, the evidence is not rock-solid, but when it comes to treatment-resistant bipolar depression we don’t have much else to draw on ex

Expert Q&A

How to Diagnose Bipolar Disorder

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Bipolar Disorder

TCPR: When I ask a depressed patient if they’ve ever had manic symptoms, I often run into a problem. They say, “Of course I feel more confident, energetic, and happy ... when I’m not depressed.”Dr. Parker: As it can be hard to tease apart true hypomania from normal happiness, we’ve developed a rating scale to assist, the Sydney Bipolar Screene

Research Update

Brexpiprazole Ineffective in Mania

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Mood Disorders

REVIEW OF: Vieta E et al, J Psychopharmacol 2021;35(8):971–982 TYPE OF STUDY: Phase III randomized controlled trials Brexpiprazole is FDA approved in schizophrenia and as an adjunct for major depression and is one of the better-tolerated antipsychotics. Like aripiprazole, it is a partial D2 and 5-HT1A agonist. Unlike most antipsychotics, brexpiprazo

Research Update

Mood Stabilizers: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt Them

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Mood and Menopause

Topics: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Antipsychotics Aripiprazole Asenapine Bipolar Depression Bipolar Disorder Bipolar II Cariprazine Lithium Lurasidone Mania Medication adherence Mood Stabilizers olanzapine Oxcarbazepine Pharmacology Pharmacology Tips Psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology Tips Quetiapine Research Research Update Risperidone safety Saphris Side Effects

Review of: Bai Y et al, J Clin Psychopharmacol 2020;40(2):167–179 STUDY TYPE: Combined meta-analysis and literature review of placebo-controlled trials Medication adherence is an ongoing struggle in bipolar disorder, and it’s compounded by the fact that our patients often don’t advertise their non-adherence. While numbers vary, reviews general

Expert Q&A

Who Should Get Lithium?

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, When to Use Lithium

TCPR: Lithium has been called the gold-standard treatment in bipolar disorder. Why is it not used more often? Dr. Rybakowski: That is a paradox. On the one hand, lithium is accepted as a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder, but it is also greatly underutilized. And I think there are two main reasons. One is aggressive promotion of branded mood st

Research Update

Two Augmentation Strategies Compared in Bipolar I

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, When to Use Lithium

Review of: Missio G et al, Trials 2019;20(1):608 STUDY TYPE: Randomized, open-label controlled trial It’s rare to see full recovery in bipolar I disorder with a single medicine, so we often depend on some combination of mood stabilizers and/or antipsychotics. Even then, weight gain and metabolic problems are deal-breakers. Some experts favor the c

Clinical Update

Oxcarbazepine: Close, but no Cigar

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Bipolar II

You are selecting a mood stabilizer for a 29-year-old woman with mania. If it works, she’ll need to take it long term, but with adherence rates hovering around 50% in this illness, that’s not a likely prospect. The FDA-approved options are not very high on tolerability, but what about oxcarbazepine? Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal) is often used in bipo

Expert Q&A

Psychopharmacology in Bipolar II

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Bipolar II

Topics: Bipolar Disorder | Hypomania | Mania | Mixed Features | Mood Stabilizers

TCPR: You’ve carved out a unique practice with difficult-to-treat bipolar disorders. Tell us about the patients you see. Dr. Kelly: I see a lot of bipolar II and “softer bipolar.” Clinically these patients have chronic depression, often mixed with hypomanic symptoms. Nearly all have tried multiple antidepressants that didn’t work, stopped worki

Highlights

Highlight From This Issue

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Bipolar II

In bipolar disorder, oxcarbazepine is slightly better tolerated than carbamazepine, but less effective. While its medical risks are different, they are by no means safer than carbamazepine’s. Its drug interactions can be a problem as well. On average, higher doses of second-generation antidepressants do not bring greater recoveries in major depress

Article

Does Mania Follow the Sun?

From The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Dark and Light Therapy

Topics: Bipolar Disorder | Free Articles | Mania

TABLE : SPRINGTIME MANIA Click here for the full PDF table showing sunlight peaks. If dark nights can treat mania, can too much sunshine destabilize it? Yes and no. Mania is linked to rapid changes in sunlight, but not to the amount of light itself. Mania peaks in early spring when there’s a steep rise in sunlight. By the time the longe