Treatment with Mood Stabilizers
Treatment with Mood Stabilizers Lithium was used in the mid-19th century for such varied disorders as gout, diabetes, and rheumatism. With the seminal reports of Cade (1) and Schou et…
Indications for Mood Stabilizers
Indications for Mood Stabilizers Bipolar Disorder Bipolar disorder (BPD) (formerly manic/depressive illness) represents one of the most dramatic presentations in all of medicine and simultaneously poses one of the more…
Therapeutic Neuromodulation
Therapeutic Neuromodulation Neuromodulation involves the induction of electrical current in nervous tissue through various means. Therapeutic effects occur through regulation of functional disturbances in distributed neural circuitry. Further, focal stimulation…
Treatment with Antidepressants
Treatment with Antidepressants The modern history of antidepressants began with the introduction of the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) in the 1950s. Although these agents are now…
Indications for Antidepressants
Indications for Antidepressants Depressive Disorders Depression is one of the most debilitating and common illnesses in medicine, having a major negative impact on personal, social, and occupational functioning. By the…
Treatment with Antipsychotics
Treatment with Antipsychotics As in other areas of clinical science, serendipity as well as careful investigation contributed to our knowledge about antipsychotics, including their Discovery Potential mechanisms of action Range…
Indications for Antipsychotics
Indications for Antipsychotics The indication for antipsychotics is the presence of psychosis in such disparate disorders as Schizophrenia Schizophreniform disorder Schizoaffective disorder Delusional disorder Brief psychotic disorder Psychosis secondary to…
Assessment of Drug Efficacy and Relevant Clinical Issues
Assessment of Drug Efficacy and Relevant Clinical Issues A series of related issues is pertinent to the decision-making process a clinician uses in the application of drug therapy The first…
Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics General Principles The effect of any medication is determined by three variables: Affinity for and intrinsic activity at a site of action (pharmacodynamics, variable 1) Drug concentration…
General Principles
General Principles The science of psychopharmacotherapy continues to rapidly expand, creating both an opportunity and a challenge. As the neurosciences facilitate the development of new psychotropics, the art of applying…
