UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

El litio y otros fármacos para el trastorno maníaco-depresivo y bipolar

Moncrieff, JM; (2018) El litio y otros fármacos para el trastorno maníaco-depresivo y bipolar. Revista de la Asociación Española de Neuropsiquiatría , 38 (133) pp. 283-299. 10.4321/S0211-57352018000100015. Green open access

[thumbnail of Spanish_Revista_bipolar.pdf]
Preview
Text
Spanish_Revista_bipolar.pdf - Published Version

Download (124kB) | Preview

Abstract

Manic-depressive disorder, as it was understood in the past, is a rare condition. However, the evolution of the concept has generated the bipolar construct. This concept includes several conditions, of diffuse limits, which can be frequently found. Disorders of the so-called “bipolar spectrum” have nowadays a high prevalence in adults. Drugs known as “mood stabilizers” are supposed to decrease the affective alterations of bipolar disorder. However, there is no evidence of this supposed stabilizer action on mood swings. The main object of this paper is to look through the scientific bases of pharmacological treatments for bipolar disorder. Only type I bipolar disorder counts on a body of research on pharmacological interventions in acute situations, as well as on maintenance treatments that claim to prevent relapses and recurrences. There is no strong evidence for the superiority of lithium over the rest of sedative drugs, or for its specific action on treating type I bipolar manifestations. In the rest of conditions of the bipolar spectrum, research studies are limited. In addition, in this paper, evidence underlying the current belief about anti-suicidal properties of lithium is considered, resulting to be very weak. Clinicians are encouraged to inform the individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder about the scientific evidence regarding benefits and risks of medication, so that they can make decisions about the strategy to follow in case of a new crisis, maintaining, or not, a pharmacological long-term treatment or implementing other strategies.

Type: Article
Title: El litio y otros fármacos para el trastorno maníaco-depresivo y bipolar
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.4321/S0211-57352018000100015
Publisher version: http://www.revistaaen.es/index.php/aen/article/vie...
Language: English
Additional information: © 2018 Revista de la Asociación Española de Neuropsiquiatría. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: bipolar disorder, bipolar spectrum, mood stabilisers, lithium, suicide
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10089239
Downloads since deposit
19Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item