Abstract Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder that affects approximately 2.6% of adults over the age of 18 years old in the United States. The disorder is characterized by mood shifts from low depressed states to high manic states. Little is known of what the causes of bipolar disorder are, but as technology advances more research is being done to pinpoint the areas of the brain that cause bipolar disorder and the shifts in mood. One intriguing area of study for a possible cause surrounds NMDA receptors and their role in synaptic plasticity. This paper will explore the possible alternative treatment that has arisen from the research into NMDA receptors and the use of the drug Ketamine, an NMDA antagonist. In studies, Ketamine treatments …show more content…
Not knowing the exact causes of the disorder then makes finding the right treatment much more difficult. Without knowing what to target, doctors are left trying a wide range of medications, therapies and other treatments in attempting to stabilize their patient’s often debilitating symptoms. In 2012, I was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder and since then have tried a variety of different medications and treatments to find a way to stabilize my moods. Recently, with the help of Lithium I have felt better and definitely more stable but far from cured and I am still always weary of having an episode. One of the hardest parts of living with bipolar disorder does not even have to do with its effects; it has to do with not knowing what causes myself and many other people around the world to feel this way and every new piece research that comes out brings us one step closer to figuring it out. New research is bringing the Glutamate Cycle and specifically the role of NMDA receptors, into conversations about their potential role in causing bipolar disorder and perhaps other disorders. NMDA receptors play a role in synaptic plasticity and this is adding to the hypothesis that increasingly more researchers have that synaptic plasticity plays an important role in causing mental disorders. Ketamine, an NMDA antagonist, has shown to produce rapid onset and prolonged relief of symptoms for patients with bipolar disorder administered the drug. These results
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder known for severe persistent mood instabilities between mania and depression, . It causes unusual changes in mood, energy, and activity levels which makes ability to perform daily tasks very hard. (Concepts Advisory Panel [CAP], 2015). BPD affects more than 2.3 million adult Americans, or 1% of the population. (Guo, Patel, Li, & Keck 2010). There are four basic types of bipolar spectrum; All of them involve clear change in the mood energy, and activity levels (CAP,2015). These mood incidences’ ranges from periods of extremely high and energized behavior known as Manic episodes to very sad, or hopeless periods known as depressive episodes. Bipolar I disorder, the client has at least one episode of manic followed by major depression. Bipolar II disorder, the client has one or more hypomanic and major depressive episodes, the other not so severe and less diagnoses type of Bipolar is chronic mood disorder that lasts more two years with combination of hypomania and dysthymia. (CAP,2015). This paper will go into, Bipolar I, Manic episodes, the pathophysiology, Sign and symptoms, treatments, comorbidity, nursing intervention and nursing and patient therapeutic relationship.
Ever felt extremely happy one day and terribly depressed the next, as if you were on an emotional roller coaster? How about spontaneously spending $5,000 on a shopping spree that you have no use for? Imagine being so depressed that you want to commit suicide because dinner was not the meal you had in mind. Each of these actions may seem completely farfetched to the average person; however, actions similar to these are a reality for nearly 5.8 million adults in the United States that suffer from an illness called bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder, historically referred to as manic depressive illness, is an
Bipolar disorder also known as manic depression has always been a mystery since the 16th century. History has shown that it can appear in almost everyone. Bipolar disorder causes mood swings in energy, thinking, and other behavior. Having a bipolar disorder can be very disabling (Kapczinski). A study was evaluated and about 1.3% of the U.S population of people suffers from bipolar disorder. Stressors and environmental influences can trigger and cause a person to go through numerous episodes. Bipolar disorder is characterized according to the severity of the stages. According to Kapczinski, there are four different stages that a person with bipolar disorder can experience. The prognosis of a disorder is different in each particular patient
As the child grows up, bipolar disorder may affect the size, shape, and function of the brain. Experts believe bipolar disorder is partly caused when brain chemicals called neurotransmitters are unbalanced. Humans have three chemicals in their brain called noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. Noradrenaline and serotonin have been known to link to psychiatric mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. Dopamine has to do with the pleasure system of the brain. Disruption to the dopamine system is connected to psychosis and schizophrenia, two mental disorders characterized by distortions in reality and illogical thought patterns and behaviors.
Biological: Researchers believe that some neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine, don’t function properly in individuals with bipolar disorder.
This source gives the readers an in-depth overview of Bipolar Disorder and the causes of having the mental health issue. There’s a great distinction between the ups and downs people experience and bipolar disorder. Due to the ups and downs teens and children experience, bipolar disorder is hard to diagnose during those early years. The National Center of Biotechnology Information’s research program is run by Senior Investigators, Tenure Track Investigators, Staff Scientists, and Postdoctoral Fellows which makes the source credible. The source contained
Individuals all over the world suffer with clinical depression, which affect their quality of life. Depression usually affects a person’s emotions, thoughts, behaviors and overall physical health. Symptoms include sadness, guilt, moodiness, loss of interest, with drawling from people, changes in sleep, decrease in sex drive, and thoughts of self-harm or suicide. The common antidepressants take at least a two-week period to take effect; that two-week period is a critical time where a patient can increase their symptoms and experience suicidal depression. The party drug, known as ketamine has recently made a big impression for neuroscientists trying to formulate a medication to help those who suffer from clinical depression in a rapid time frame. A key element in the advancement for faster medications is realizing how and why, ketamine works so quickly, in comparison to the other generic drugs that are prescribed. According to Newport, a dose of the nonselective N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine can produce a constant antidepressant effect within hours. With the amount of experiments being conducted to expand the knowledge of ketamine, the objective is to find a solution that can be used to relieve the patients who experience serious symptoms in the fastest time possible.
The Efficacy of Lithium in Treating Bipolar Disorder Lithium is a psychotropic drug that became available in 1970 as a mood stabilizing medication for the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder. It has been shown to reduce the frequency and severity of manic states, as well as the depression that is concomitant with bipolar disorder. Much research has been done in the short duration of lithium's employment to evaluate its efficacy and side effects. As stated above, "Lithium stabilizes the mood of a bipolar patient, preventing a relapse into either mania or depression" (Kalat, 2004, p.472). Bipolar disorder (also known as manic- depressive illness), is characterized by the presence of the following symptoms: motor
Lithium Carbonate is the most commonly drug that is prescribed for treating bipolar disorder (May, Hickey, Triantis, Palazidou, & Kyriacou, 2015). It works as a mood stabilizer that significantly reduces excessive behaviors and suicidal tendencies. However, the way that lithium exerts its impact on mood is still unknown. One study suggests that key of lithium therapeutic actions are the neuroprotective effects (Malhi, Tanious, Das, Coulston, & Berk 2013). For instance, lithium has been demonstrated to decrease the oxidative stress that involves in multiple episodes of mania and depression. Other study recommends that lithium stabilize electrical
Because of the frequent mood swings, affected anatomical pathways in rapid cycling are those in neural pathways that are thought to regulate human mood. In this study, a simple brain scan revealed the differences in structural volume when looking at a person with the disorder compared to a healthy individual. A patient with the bipolar disorder had an enlarged amygdala, which is responsible for emotions, memory and survival instincts. According to the researchers, there is a role of amygdala dysfunction in bipolar disorder. The way researchers have studied this problem so far is by comparing scanned MRIs of rapid cycling bipolar disorder patients with healthy people that are equivalent in age, gender, race, and education. Researchers have also been studying the peripheral and central nervous systems in rodents and pigs to observe the flow of BDNF and neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) through these systems, uncovering that both these neurotrophic factors have the ability to cross the blood brain barrier.
1980). It is not clear why this is, as there does not appear to be
There are not nearly as many treatments for bipolar disorder. In fact, there is only one treatment that seems to have lasting effects. This treatment uses therapy with a professional coupled with medications. “Antibipolar drugs, also called mood stabilizers, help steady the mood of those with a bipolar disorder” (Chapter 2, 2009). The advances in treatment are due to the discovery of lithium as a medication. This drug works extremely well to eliminate manic episodes and even help with the depression. The drugs