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Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness in which a person alternates between periods of severe depression and periods of mania (extreme joy, over activity, or irritability). The illness is also called manic-depressive illness or mania-depression. Approximately 2.3 million adult American men and women equally suffer from bipolar disorder. That is about 1.2% of the population. The disorder typically emerges in adolescence or early childhood, but in some cases it appears in childhood. Cycles or episodes, of depression, mania, or "mixed" manic and depressive symptoms typically recur and may become more frequent, often disrupting work, school, family, and social life.
Treatment for the disorder include drugs and psychotherapy. The most commonly prescribed medications are lithium, carbamazepine and valproate (depakote). Lithium has long been used as a first line treatment for bipolar disorder. Approved for the treatment of acute mania in 1970 by the U.S. FDA, lithium has been an effective mood-stabilizing medication for many people with bipolar disorder. Anticonvulsant medications, particularly valproate and carbamazepine, have been used as alternatives to lithium in many cases. Valproate was FDA approved for the treatment of acute mania in 1995. Newer anticonvulsant medications, including lamotrigine, gabapentin, and topiramate, are being studied in determine their efficacy as mood stabilizers in bipolar disorder. Some researchers suggests that different combinations of lithium and anticonvulsants and along with an antidepressant to protect against a switch into mania or rapid cycling.