Bipolar affective disorder: A review of novel forms of therapy

Abstract

Normothymic, antidepressant and antipsychotic pharmaceutics are, in accordance with international guidelines, employed both in the therapy and the prevention of bipolar disorder (BD). Long-term studies on the mechanisms of action of such medications, as well as on the pathogenetic background of BD, have led to the discovery of effective, albeit unconventional pharmacotherapeutic approaches. These methods have the potential to successfully treat mania and depression, as well as to counter affective episode relapse. Allopurinol - commonly used to treat gout, secondary hyperuricemia and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, acts by inhibiting the synthesis of uric acid, levels of which are often increased in manic patients. Due to this, an evaluation of the potential effect of allopurinol on the reduction of mania symptoms seems to be reasonable. Additionally, the numerable research papers coming out of research regarding the role of purine neurotransmitters in mood alterations, indicate that adenosine agonists act analogously to dopamine antagonists.

Keywords

• allopurinol
• n-acetylcysteine
• memantine
• acetylsalicylic acid
• ketamine
• modafinil
• tamoxifen