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Maintenance Treatments of Lithium, Carbamazepine, and Adjunctive CBT in Bipolar Disorder: Review
- 1 Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Bipolar disorder is an acute mental health condition with high relapse rates. At the onset, it can affect the normal functioning of the individual life of patients. Although there are no curative treatments for it, many other treatments are available to reduce relapse rates and stabilise symptoms. This article reviewed previous experiments, meta-analyses, and literature reviews on the topic of pharmacotherapies and integrated therapies in treating bipolar disorder and their effects on recurrent rates. It focused on three treatments, which were lithium, carbamazepine, and adjunctive cognitive behavioural therapy, and aimed to assess their efficacy and tolerability in treating bipolar disorder. Lithium was found to show its anti-manic effect and anti-suicide effect, which remained the gold standard in treating bipolar disorder. Whereas, adverse effects should be carefully noted to avoid worsened long-term health conditions. It was shown that carbamazepine had a comparable effect to lithium and was a potential candidate for lithium. But it requires more research to further assess its effectiveness. Adjunctive CBT showed its efficacy in treating both manic and depressive episodes. While bipolar patients who had relatively more mood episodes may not benefit from it.
Keywords
Bipolar disorder, Lithium, Carbamazepine, Adjunctive CBT, Relapse
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Cite this article
Cong,F. (2023).Maintenance Treatments of Lithium, Carbamazepine, and Adjunctive CBT in Bipolar Disorder: Review.Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,7,49-55.
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