bipolar disorder
grrlscientist | April 11, 2007tags: bipolar disorder, mania, manic mouse, psychiatric research
Some of you, like me, suffer from bipolar disorder or might know someone who does, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to write a little about the creation of a mouse model to study the genetics that are thought to underlie the manic phase of bipolar disorder -- a phase that has not been well understood so far.
Bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive illness, is a psychiatric condition that affects a person's moods. Typically, a person who suffers from a classical bipolar disorder (Also known as bipolar affective disorder,…
grrlscientist | December 17, 2006If you haven't read the front page (above the fold) of today's NY Times, well, take a peek: it's a rather long story about Eli Lilly's antipsychotic "wonder drug", Zyprexa (one of the drugs I am supposed to take but often don't because of its excruciating expense). Apparently, it causes nearly 1/3 of its users to gain at least 22 pounds -- with some people gaining over 100 pounds -- after one year of use. Not only that, but it also causes diabetes.
According to the story, doctors have been talking about these side effects since 1999 -- where the hell were my doctors when prescribing this drug…
grrlscientist | December 13, 2006A recent government report tells how antidepressants can actually increase the risk of suicidal behavior for people up to age 24. It plans new warning labels and says users of all ages should be closely monitored.
Still, mental health experts worry that additional warnings could curtail use of the drugs and ultimately do more harm than good.
Dr. John Mann, a Columbia University psychiatrist, suggested simply replacing the proposed expanded warnings with the recommendation that doctors more closely monitor their patients.
"We can do more good by providing more treatment for depressed…