Bipolar Disorder

"Homeland," "The Vest" 10 p.m. Dec. 11 Showtime The premise Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) returns as a hero to the U.S. after spending eight years as a prisoner of war in Afghanistan. Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) is a mentally unstable CIA officer who is convinced that Brody is an agent of Al Qaeda. She gets antipsychotic medication and lithium from her sister, psychiatrist Maggie Mathison (Amy Hargreaves), but she fears she'll lose her job if she gets medical treatment through normal channels.

"Homeland," "The Vest" 10 p.m. Dec. 11 Showtime The premise Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) returns as a hero to the U.S. after spending eight years as a prisoner of war in Afghanistan. Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) is a mentally unstable CIA officer who is convinced that Brody is an agent of Al Qaeda. She gets antipsychotic medication and lithium from her sister, psychiatrist Maggie Mathison (Amy Hargreaves), but she fears she'll lose her job if she gets medical treatment through normal channels.

A representative for Catherine Zeta-Jones confirmed Wednesday that the actress recently underwent inpatient treatment for bipolar II disorder at a Connecticut mental health facility.  Booster Shots spoke about the disorder with David J. Miklowitz, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and author of "The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide: What You and Your Family Need to Know. " Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depression, is typically lifelong and recurrent, Miklowitz said.  Some people have their first episode in childhood, others later in life; the majority, during the teen years.  Some people experience episodes every few years; others are in and out of episodes constantly.

Childbirth can trigger psychiatric illnesses in some women, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and even psychosis. A study published Monday, however, draws the first connection ever between postpartum mental illness and later bipolar disorder. Researchers searched a Danish registry of more than 120,000 women receiving treatment for a first episode of a psychiatric illness other than bipolar disorder. They found 3,062 women who had a first episode of a mental disorder other than bipolar disorder but who were later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Abilify, the brand name of the drug aripiprazole, is an antipsychotic medication used to treat the acute phase of bipolar disorder as well as the maintenance phase -- the period of time after a patient has improved and the focus turns toward preventing a relapse. This second use of Abilify is the target of a biting review published Tuesday by Dr. Alexander Tsai of Harvard University and Dr. Nicholas Rosenlicht of UC San Francisco. The scientists set out to review data that justify the use of Abilify for the maintenance phase of bipolar disorder -- and found very little.

Childbirth can trigger psychiatric illnesses in some women, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and even psychosis. A study published Monday, however, draws the first connection ever between postpartum mental illness and later bipolar disorder. Researchers searched a Danish registry of more than 120,000 women receiving treatment for a first episode of a psychiatric illness other than bipolar disorder. They found 3,062 women who had a first episode of a mental disorder other than bipolar disorder but who were later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The final straw for Carolyn Alves came last fall when she tried to help her daughter Cecelia dress for kindergarten. The volatile 6-year-old had worked herself into a frenzy as she tried on outfit after outfit, rejecting each as unacceptable. The tantrum at full bore, she scooped up a pile of clothes and hurled them at the front door of the family's Spanish-style bungalow in Glendale. The clock ticked past the school's 8 a.m. bell. Alves pulled her wailing child into her arms and held her on the couch.

They are some of the most troubled children that psychiatrists ever see. They have raging tempers and engage in reckless behaviors that frequently land them in the principal's office, even the hospital. But are they bipolar? In the last 15 years, diagnoses of bipolar disorder in children have skyrocketed as much as fortyfold, according to some estimates. The condition — defined by severe mood swings, between depression and mania, lasting for weeks or month at a time — has traditionally been considered a lifelong condition in adults and is treated through tranquilizers and antidepressants.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Thursday: It's now Michael Douglas' turn to stand by Catherine Zeta-Jones, as she's treated for bipolar disorder. ( Los Angeles Times ) Terrence Malick's long-delayed "The Tree of Life" will finally be unveiled at Cannes in May. ( Los Angeles Times ) Security for this weekend's Coachella music festival is going wide -- a mile wide. ( Los Angeles Times ) Scarlett Johansson has moved in with Daddy, er, Sean Penn.

Carrie Fisher played Princess Leia Organa in the first three "Star Wars" movies. You know it, and she knows it, and she knows you know it, and that will bind you as long as you both shall live. Possibly you also know that she is the daughter of the actress Debbie Reynolds, and less probably you may know that she is the daughter of the singer Eddie Fisher, because you are less likely to know who Eddie Fisher was, as much of a pop star as he was in his day. "If my life wasn't funny it would just be true ?

Child psychiatric disorders often share symptoms that may overlap or occur in combinations. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (proposed) — Severe, recurrent outbursts of anger; persistent, severe irritability and negative mood beginning before age 10. Treatment: Not yet defined. Conduct disorder — Persistent behavior that violates the rights of others, such as bullying, aggression, breaking rules, deceitfulness or theft. Treatment typically includes behavioral and psychotherapy and possibly medications to treat inattention, impulsivity or depression.

The final straw for Carolyn Alves came last fall when she tried to help her daughter Cecelia dress for kindergarten. The volatile 6-year-old had worked herself into a frenzy as she tried on outfit after outfit, rejecting each as unacceptable. The tantrum at full bore, she scooped up a pile of clothes and hurled them at the front door of the family's Spanish-style bungalow in Glendale. The clock ticked past the school's 8 a.m. bell. Alves pulled her wailing child into her arms and held her on the couch.

Three years ago, global markets were plunged into chaos when Lehman Bros. collapsed at the height of the financial crisis. Jared Dillian, an ex-trader at the firm, is just happy to have gotten out alive — literally. Dillian's seven years as a Wall Street trader came to an end when the 158-year-old firm was dramatically pushed into bankruptcy Sept. 15, 2008. He'll mark the anniversary as a rare second chance in life after the high-pressure job turned him into a sort of voodoo doll on which the financial industry's wounds were visible.

A Northern California woman's treatment for anorexia at a residential facility was medically necessary and must be covered by her healthcare plan, a federal appeals court has ruled in a case that could lead to more extensive benefits for those being treated for mental illnesses. Jeanene Harlick's policy with Blue Shield of California specifically excluded coverage for residential care, the room and board expenses she incurred while at the Castlewood Treatment Center in Missouri for 10 months beginning in April 2006.

When the family of Chad Brian Scott, a heavily tattooed former white supremacist, contacted Milton Grimes seeking legal representation, the veteran black attorney had one initial question: "Do you happen to know my race?" They did. And it didn't matter. What they were looking for was a good lawyer, recalled Scott's cousin Leah Jensen. Scott, a former skinhead who suffers from schizophrenic and bipolar disorders, was forcibly restrained by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies after he tried to resist arrest, authorities said.

Abilify, the brand name of the drug aripiprazole, is an antipsychotic medication used to treat the acute phase of bipolar disorder as well as the maintenance phase -- the period of time after a patient has improved and the focus turns toward preventing a relapse. This second use of Abilify is the target of a biting review published Tuesday by Dr. Alexander Tsai of Harvard University and Dr. Nicholas Rosenlicht of UC San Francisco. The scientists set out to review data that justify the use of Abilify for the maintenance phase of bipolar disorder -- and found very little.

Antidepressants, which are widely prescribed with mood stabilizers to treat patients with bipolar disorder, do not work in relieving the depressive symptoms of the illness, a large federal study reported Wednesday. The study in the New England Journal of Medicine narrows the already limited number of treatments for bipolar disorder, which affects 5.7 million adults in the U.S., experts said. "A new generation of drugs is needed," said Dr. Thomas R.

In the past year, researchers have begun to map out a genetic basis for one of psychiatry's most baffling conditions -- bipolar disorder, a lifelong mental disease in which people zigzag from exuberant emotional highs to paralyzing periods of despair. The latest findings come from UC San Diego, where doctors plan to report today that they have identified a gene that's linked to the disorder in up to 10% of sufferers.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Thursday: It's now Michael Douglas' turn to stand by Catherine Zeta-Jones, as she's treated for bipolar disorder. ( Los Angeles Times ) Terrence Malick's long-delayed "The Tree of Life" will finally be unveiled at Cannes in May. ( Los Angeles Times ) Security for this weekend's Coachella music festival is going wide -- a mile wide. ( Los Angeles Times ) Scarlett Johansson has moved in with Daddy, er, Sean Penn.

A representative for Catherine Zeta-Jones confirmed Wednesday that the actress recently underwent inpatient treatment for bipolar II disorder at a Connecticut mental health facility.  Booster Shots spoke about the disorder with David J. Miklowitz, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and author of "The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide: What You and Your Family Need to Know. " Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depression, is typically lifelong and recurrent, Miklowitz said.  Some people have their first episode in childhood, others later in life; the majority, during the teen years.  Some people experience episodes every few years; others are in and out of episodes constantly.