Chris Aiken, MD

Some patients get more depressed on this antidepressant, but that does not mean they have bipolar disorder.

In this podcast, Chris Aiken, MD reviews ways to reduce risks that can be associated with treatment for bipolar disorder.

Atypical antipsychotics play an important role in acute bipolar depression and mixed states, but one is an especially researched option for children.

Pediatric pearls with a focus on depression.

There are a few things that we all agree on, as reflected in a recent consensus statement.

Even as antidepressants improve mood, they can worsen sleep-and poor sleep is both a symptom and a cause of depression.

There are ways to prevent, manage, and treat TD, and this podcast will guide you through those steps from FDA-approved medications to off-label therapies.

Behind the controversy is some common ground, buried deep in the DSM. New insights and podcast here.

Experts are divided on the issue, but there’s one thing nearly all agree on.

Once thought untreatable, we now have two FDA-approved medications for TD and a handful of off-label options. More in this research update.

Withdrawal and retreat are the counter-transference pitfalls in TRD.  It is often done to the tune of “this is as good as it gets.” Scratch that. A bonus podcast accompanies this piece.

Podcast: Treatment strategies on a long-debated issue, 18 experts reveal what they really do in practice.

Some dyskinesias improve with antipsychotic treatment, and these types are more common than thought. More in this podcast.

Bupropion is one of the better tolerated antidepressants, but concerns about anxiety, insomnia, and seizures have dampened its popularity. In this podcast, we’ll see how well those concerns hold up to the evidence.

Are mood stabilizers causing strokes? Can we treat bipolar II without medication? The past year brought answers to these questions and more.

Coenzyme Q10-a nutrient that has improved well-being, vitality, and energy in small studies of patients with breast cancer, the elderly, and veterans-was found to treat bipolar depression in a new randomized controlled trial.

Blue spectrum light can worsen two systems that are already fragile in people with mood disorders: sleep and circadian rhythms. Fortunately, there are simple solutions to correct this problem.

Unremitting screen time worsens two systems that are already fragile in people with mood disorders-sleep and circadian rhythms.

A 10-year study of over a thousand patients finds that nitrate-cured meats may play a causative role in mania. Hot dogs and bacon may be next.

Hypomania looks very different when it’s mixed with depression.

The biological clock is set by daily cycles of light and darkness, and regulation of these cycles is a promising avenue of prevention in bipolar disorder. That is exactly what we’re not doing.

Hypomania is critical to rule out, but hard to pin down. In part 1 of this 2-part series, Dr. Aiken shares his top pearls for making the diagnosis.

Clinical features that guide the selection.

The author shines a light on a preventative treatment for both children and adults.

The first clinical trial of probiotics in bipolar disorder is out, and the results look promising.

In children who have a first-degree relative with bipolar disorder, the severity of symptoms predicts whether they will transition to the illness.

Regardless of the symptoms that a child presents with, careful monitoring for hypomania is needed if the problems are significant and the parent has bipolar disorder.

DSM focuses on the difference between Bipolar I and II. But there’s another way to categorize the illness that may have more relevance to treatment.

An environmental approach to mania makes it possible to “slow down the sun” and modulate the destabilizing effects of spring sunlight. More in this report.

Lamotrigine’s favorable tolerability is a welcome advance for patients with bipolar disorder. The danger it poses is at the start of treatment, when its mood-lifting effects can easily be waylaid by the eruption of a rash.