Bipolar Disorder Daily News Blog

Antidepressants for bipolar depression

Antidepressants for bipolar depression: Tips to stay out of trouble

There is a good article on Current Psychiatry Online that talks about bipolar depression and treatment issues with antidepressants. The article is written for doctors, but most people can probably follow it.

The story states:

"In clinical practice, 50% to 80% of bipolar patients receive long-term antidepressants,1 although potential benefits probably outweigh risks in 20% to 40%. This gap suggests that psychiatrists could do more to stay out of trouble when prescribing antidepressants for patients with bipolar depression.

Antidepressants have not shown efficacy in long-term treatment, and evidence of their effectiveness in acute bipolar depression is limited. They appear to pose greater risk of switching and mood destabilization for some patients and certain types of bipolar illness, and some antidepressant classes are more worrisome than others.

Because carefully analyzing risks and benefits is essential when considering antidepressants for a patient with bipolar illness, this article clarifies that delicate balance and offers evidence-based recommendations for using antidepressants in bipolar depression."

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