The Diagnosis of Bipolar Syndrome

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The Diagnosis of Bipolar Syndromei

Introduction1

Discussion1

History1

Diagnosis of bipolar disorder2

Occurrence on the basis of gender2

Categorization3

Bipolar disorder-I3

Bipolar disorder type-II4

Cyclothymia4

Not otherwise specific (NOS)4

Etiology4

Role of neurochemical factors in bipolar disorder5

Role of Environmental factors in bipolar disorder5

Role of Hormonal imbalance in bipolar disorder6

Role of Medication triggered mania in bipolar disorder6

Summary of the researches7

Treatment7

Acute episode of the bipolar disorder7

Relapse and recurrence8

Pharmacologic therapy8

The acute phase treatment8

Lithium carbamazepine and valproate8

Preventing relapse8

Psychosocial therapy9

Prodromes9

Normal prodromes of depression10

Cognitive therapy11

Best practice treatments for bipolar disorder13

Prevention of bipolar disorder13

Current research in relation to Future directions14

Summary14

References16

The Diagnosis of Bipolar Syndrome

Introduction

Diagnostic and statistical manual are the publication of American psychiatric Association. This manual provides a basis for the classification of mental disorders. The manual is used widely in the United States of America, as well as other countries for the sole purpose of understanding the mental disorders, their classification, etiology and treatments. The publication has five edition with some alterations and advancements in every edition.

Bipolar disorder is the category of mood disorder. The patient suffers from mania followed by episodic depression. The condition needs counseling and advanced psychotherapy to treat the patient.

Discussion

History

The first diagnostic and statistical manual was published in 1952.The manual of diagnostic and statistical disorders characterize the bipolar disorder as a type of mood disorder. The bipolar disorder was first described under the section of mood disorders in the fourth edition of diagnostic and statistical manual. However, in edition 5, there are certain changes in the categorization of the types of bipolar disorder. The fourth and fifth edition also include the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), which is a list for classification of medical disorders, generated by the world health organization. This emphasizes on the signs and symptoms of the disease, their etiology, findings, external social and personal issues and the sources that caused the disease occurrence.

Changes in the latest edition

As stated in the earlier editions, Bipolar disorder was initially described by a psychiatrist, named as Kraepelin. The name was given to the disorder later on, by a German professional, called Karl Leonhard, in 1979. He distinguished the bipolar disorder from the unipolar disorder, by categorizing it as a disorder that move to and fro between depression and mania.

The fifth edition coves the flaws of the fourth edition. The fourth edition of DSM, with the tenth edition of incorporation of international classification of diseases, is far more useful than the fourth edition. The fourth edition has a sub category called “not-otherwise-specified”. This categorization was responsible for leaving many individuals out of the categorization. This categorization problem led to poor clarification and elucidation of the problems (Vieta, Phillips, 2007).

Diagnosis of bipolar disorder

Initially the disorder was diagnosed under the category of other mental disorders like schizophrenia. With the passage of time, the diagnosis improved, and now the physicians classify this mood disorder as a different category. The diagnosis depends on the assessment of symptoms, severity of those symptoms, time span and length of the problem, and the rate of recurrence. The criteria used to assess these symptoms ...