These include newer medications chiefly the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) the tricyclics, and the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). The SSRIs and other newer medications that affect neurotransmitters such as dopamine or norepinephrine generally have fewer side effects than tricyclics. Sometimes the doctor will try a variety of antidepressants before finding the most effective medication or combination of medications. Sometimes the dosage must be increased to be effective. Although some improvements may be seen in the first few weeks, antidepressant medications must be taken regularly for 3 to 4 weeks (in some cases, as many as 8 weeks) before the full therapeutic effect occurs.

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Millions of people around the world are suffering from manic depression or more commonly known as bipolar affective disorder. Everybody experiences some form of mood swings but the mood swings that people with bipolar affective disorder face are way beyond normal.

The frequency can vary from one person to the next and is characterized by extreme low depression and extreme highs of an elevated mood or mania.

While the cause of bipolar affective disorder is still yet to be discovered, experts believe that it may have something to do with genetics and hormonal levels. There are even some cases where another form of illness brings on the bipolar affective disorder in a person.

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For years it was believed that your memory was just what it was; either you had a good one or a bad one, and of course it always got worse with age. Some people even thought that memory was like a physical storage area, and that the reason it got worse with age is because you were learning and therefore needing to store too many things. You needed to purge old memories to make way for new information.

But as scientists learned more about the brain and how memory actually worked, they realized that there were things once could actually do to improve not only their short-term memory, but to help recall facts that were stored in

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Recent statistics are showing that 1 out of every 5 persons may be suffering from clinical depression. This means that such patients have displayed symptoms of the mental encumbrance for six or more months.

To this effect, Doctors often prescribe antidepressant drugs and draw from a varied arsenal of the forms of medication for depression presently available. A person s age, their history, and severity of their depression often determines appropriate medication choice.

Moreover, various forms of medication for depression options fill up the shelves of countless drug-stores and pharmacies, and are being prescribed like vitamin pills for such patients.

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Need for Long term care management of bipolar disorder:
Most bipolar disorders require long term course management for the effective treatment.

Complete recovery of the individual Bipolar Disorder cannot be said to occur, if the initial symptoms subside for sometime under the effect of medication. There can be several episodes of relapse.
In fact Bipolar disorder has one percent chance of lasting for a lifetime even after diagnosis and treatment.
Bipolar disorder differs from one individual to another in its severity, frequency of cycles of mania and depression, and various psychotic states that can be debilitating.
A single or few episodes of relapse can trigger further relapses.

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