- Treating Adolescent Mania and Bipolar Disorder
By Scott A. West, MD, Psychiatric Institute of Florida
Dr. West is Director, Psychopharmacology Research Program at the Psychiatric Institute of Florida,
Orlando, FL.
Traditionally, bipolar disorder has been thought of as an illness that begins in late adolescence and
early adulthood and is defined by distinct periods of depression and mania. Recent research has
suggested that while this may be the case in many patients, the bipolar spectrum includes a substantial
percentage of patients with childhood- and adolescent-onset bipolar disorder who may present with a
range of clinical presentations. In a survey of 500 bipolar patients, Lish and colleagues found that the
majority of patients had clearly developed significant symptomatology by 18-years of age and that
many of these patients had not been properly diagnosed or treated for years, which resulted in
devastating outcomes.
(Added: Sun Aug 26 2001)
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