Given the high incidence of substance abuse in bipolar disorder, the supplement N-acetylcysteine (NAC) should be considered for use as a prophylactic agent and definitely for those already using substances, including stimulants, alcohol, marijuana, and opiates.

Supplements are often helpful, but major medications are usually required, including mood-stabilizing anticonvulsants, atypical antipsychotics with good tolerability and antidepressant effects, and lithium

Modern treatments for anhedonia

Clinical trials reveal NAC's efficacy as an adjunct in treating major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, particularly for negative and cognitive symptoms.

Highlights from the ISBD meeting.

Murray Raskind, of the VA Northwest Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, conducted a translational proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the mu-opioid receptor antagonist, naltrexone, au...

C. H. van Dyck from Yale talked about the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s dementia. -- New brain imaging data have revealed that Lecanemab cannot only highly significantly delay memory decline but also improve PET m...

Cristina Albott of the University of Minnesota Medical School reported relatively similar efficacy of intramuscular versus intravenous ketamine for the management of treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation in ...

Most clinicians are aware of lithium’s superiority over other mood stabilizers in bipolar illness prophylaxis. New data suggests this might also apply to the atypical antipsychotics. -- Lithium is also not only an effectiv...

In a study by lars Kessing in (European Neeuropsychopharmcology Volume 84, July 2024, Pages 48-56) on 169,285 patients taking either lithium or the anticonvulsants Lamotrigine (LTG) or Valproate (VPA) for at least 10 years...

We are looking for people who have had a good course of illness with lithium included in their treatment regimen to help spread the word that lithium works extremely well and its side effects are erroneously overestimated....

Lisa O’Mary of WebMD wrote: “People taking a popular type of drug for weight loss or to manage diabetes have a lower likelihood of being newly diagnosed with depression or anxiety, according to an analysis of millions of p...

Daily vitamin B6 (40mg/day), but not B1 (100mg/day), as an adjunctive therapy to lithium was associated with the improvement of mood symptoms in hospitalized patients with bipolar disorder experiencing a manic episode, acc...

Aaron S. Wolfgang, MD and Charles W. Hoge, MD reviewed data on cannabis in JAMA Psychiatry and found that there were big placebo effects and no evidence for effectiveness of cannabis in military personal. -- This negative ...

John Krystal of Yale U. in an article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci. (2023) gave new information about the anatomical and physiological effects of ketamine and about how to extend its effects. Ketamine in a...

In a recent meeting, Mark Weiser of Sheba Medical Center analysed data from “from the Clalit Health Services (CHS) database, the largest provider of health insurance in Israel, n=4.8 million, representing over 50% of the I...

Megan Brooks reports: -- “The antiseizure drugs levetiracetam (Keppra, Keppra XR, Elepsia XR, Spritam, generic) and clobazam (Onfi, Sympazan, generic) can cause a rare but serious drug hypersensitivity reaction that can be...

Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023 -- Ben Goldstein of the University of Toronto gave a plenary talk on the benefits of exercise....

Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023 -- Marisa Leon-Carlyle reported on a 43 yr. old man with chronic treatment refractory depressi...