this article references new hope in the treatment of bipolar disorder. i'm sure much still needs to be understood and researched but perhaps good news in the future for those of us who have to deal with bipolar.
Treatment for Manic-Depressive Illness Restores Brain Volume Deficits
ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2011) — Lithium, introduced in the late 1940's, was the first "wonder drug" in psychiatry. It was the first medication treatment for the manic and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and it remains among one of the most effective treatments for this disorder....
The identification of these molecular actions of lithium coincided with the discovery of regional brain volume deficits in imaging studies of people with bipolar disorder. In particular, a generation of research studies identified alterations, predominately reductions, in the size of brain regions involved in mood regulation. These studies also began to provide hints that some of the treatments for bipolar disorder would increase the volumes of these brain regions.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0216083131.htm
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