The severe mood fluctuations of bipolar or manic-depressive disorders have been around since the 16th century and affect little more than 2% of the population in both sexes, all races, and all parts of the world (Harmon 3). Researchers think that the cause is genetic, but it is still unknown. The one fact of which we are painfully aware of is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its' victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because the symptoms of bipolar disorder are so debilitating it is crucial that we search for possible treatments and cures.

The characteristics of bipolar disorder are significant shifts in mood that go from manic episodes to deep depressive episodes in a up and down trip that seemingly never end. There are actually three types of bipolar disorder. In bipolar III disorder there is a family history of mania or hypomania in addition to the client experiencing depressive episodes. This category is not highly used but is worth noting. Bipolar II disorder is marked by hypo manic episodes that have not required hospitalization. Bipolar I disorder is the full-blown illness and is defined by the presence of manic episo

It seems that everything that goes wrong with the human body is somehow linked backed to our genes. Bipolar disorder is no different. In the not so distant future, we may have another way treating bipolar disorder. Researchers are currently hunting for mood-disorder genes that lead to manic depression. If the genes were found, they would help scientists design better drugs to control bipolar disorder. With every great finding there is always a controversy lurking in the background. One such controversy has already arisen for mood-gene testing. If the exact gene or genes are found, they mat lead to test being done on fetuses. People may elect to abort the pregnancy rather than giving birth to a baby that has a higher risk or having bipolar disorder. On the positive side, new drugs made possible by mood-gene research may be effective enough to render the disease harmless, so the issue of abortion would be eliminated (Finkelman 176).

A more radical treatment is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Many people have heard about the horror stories of ECT and see it as an archaic tool that does little but torture the patient. This, however, seems to be a competent technique for treating bipolar disorder. Electroconvulsive therapy was the main form of treatment for both mania and severe depression before the introduction of lithium. "In one study, all of 28 manic patients responded to ECT, while only 18 of 28 similar patients responded to the antipsychotic drug chlorpromazine. In another study, ECT was given for eight weeks to 17 patients who had not responded to lithium, and all of them recovered" Electro convulsive therapy is very effective with patients suffering from rapid cycling between mania and depression and those that require restraint or if they are delirious. There is no study in which ECT has proved less effective than lithium or antipsychotics.

Bipolar disorder can strike at any age but most commonly strikes at age 18 in bipolar I; for bipolar II disorder, the age is 22 (Durand and Barlow 189). It has also been found that children can be seen with bipolar disorder early on. This is not very prevalent, and is only one in every 200 cases. This is thought to occur because many children with manic depression might have been misdiagnosed or just thought of as hyperactive and disruptive. The early symptoms of childhood bipolar disorder, distractibility, irritability, and hyperactivity are also the signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It is mainly for this reason that many cases might be misdiagnosed as ADHD and the prevalence of bipolar disorder in children could be much higher.

It is often impossible to predict the number of episo

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