Bipolar Disorder

For those of us who have a family member with bipolar disorder, the vivid descriptions of Marie Elise West's delusions have an uncanny similarity to things we have heard ("Prelude to a Death," by Paul Teetor, May 5). The constant episodes of relapse also ring true. This is a very dangerous and little understood disease that often destroys the patient and the family. The LPS Act must be modified so that families have the power and authority to mandate treatment, including involuntary commitment to inpatient facilities and the administration of psychotropic medication.

Over the last two years, doctors have diagnosed Andrea Robinson with half a dozen severe mental disorders and prescribed her a series of strong medications, including antidepressants and an antipsychotic. Her parents are beside themselves. Andrea is 5 years old. "It's a very difficult situation," Tammy Robinson of Ottawa said about her daughter, who appears to suffer the telltale mood swings of bipolar disorder and is now responding well to a mood-stabilizing drug.

Lupe Velez was a dynamo whose talent popped off the screen. The Mexican-born beauty, who came to fame in Douglas Fairbanks' 1927 adventure, "The Gaucho," could do anything - comedy, musicals, drama. And she could hold her own with the biggest stars, including the classic comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. In the 1934 musical comedy "Hollywood Party," Velez manages to steal a slapstick scene with the duo that involves breaking eggs. "The thing I really enjoy about Lupe Velez is the sheer joy she takes in performing - you don't often seen that," said film historian Richard Barrios, author of "A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film.

Studies have shown that nearly one-third of patients develop psychiatric problems after having a major surgery. But what about patients who have poor mental health before they go under the knife? Does it affect their chances for a full recovery? It depends on the type of psychiatric condition the patient has, according to a study published this week in Archives of Surgery . Researchers from the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center analyzed the medical records of 35,539 VA patients around the country who were admitted to the intensive care unit after a surgical procedure.

Hour after hour, Christina Eilman threw herself at the bars of her cell, shrieking threats one moment and begging for help the next. Even the women in adjoining cells, many of whom were used to the chaos of lockup, called out to guards on Eilman's behalf. "I heard that girl screaming for her life, 'Take me to the hospital! Call my parents!' " Tamalika Harris, 26, said in an interview. "The way she was screaming and kicking on the bars, I knew something was wrong."

An inexpensive drug for bipolar disorder that has been shunted aside in favor of newer, more heavily marketed drugs is actually much more effective at preventing suicides and should be the drug of choice for first treatment of such patients, researchers report today. Lithium is just as effective as the newer Depakote at preventing the wild mood swings associated with this widespread, disabling disorder, but patients who take Depakote are 2.

The Church of Scientology handed over $8.6 million this week to resolve the lawsuit of a former member who charged that the controversial church caused him to develop bipolar disorder and nearly drove him to suicide. The payment came nearly 22 years after Lawrence Wollersheim, 53, filed his 1980 lawsuit, and nearly 16 years after a California jury awarded him $30 million. In the intervening years, the award was reduced on appeal to $2.5 million and went all the way to the U.S.

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.

John Matuszak vowed to keep his Oakland Raider teammates in line. Instead, he kept them out all night. That was during the 1981 Super Bowl week in New Orleans, when Matuszak's capacity for alcohol and Quaaludes was as enormous as his 6-foot-8, 280-pound body. He basically drank Bourbon Street dry, the Raiders wound up beating Philadelphia for their second Super Bowl title, and fans to this day delight in recounting stories of the wild-eyed defensive lineman they called Tooz.