Chemistry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chemistry - Essay Example This could be manifested in a person suffering from bipolar disorder or related mental illnesses. As early as 1800, pharmacological studies came up with antipsychotic drug that will help doctors during psychiatric treatment. Research and surveys showed that by the year 2005, based on the report of Archives of General Psychiatry, approximately 5.7 million of adult Americans or 2.5 percent of its population were affected by bipolar disorder (BD). There are also cases of BD found among children (Geller B, Luby J, 1997). Bipolar disorder or manic-depression is a mental disorder characterized by signs of mania or depressions which can be observed in alternating episodes. Prominently, these episodes show shifts of mood swings, from extremely energetic moods to hopeless and depressive moods. It includes one or more incidents of manic behavior, disrupted sleep, fast speech, distractibility and increase in goal-oriented-activities. Together with these manic episodes are depressive episodes characterize with lost of interest, displeasures, feeling of emptiness and unworthiness. A bio-chemical explanation was presented by scientist and researchers to explain why people tend to suffer manic-depression. Biologically speaking human brain was composed of nerve cells, neurotransmitters and receptors sending messages from one another (Prof. Hokin, University of Winconsin).Over activity or under activity in these neurotransmitters or messengers of the brain could be the reason for such disorders. So bipolar disorder could be manifested whenever brain operations has gone wrong resulting to alternating poles of mania and depression. Anti-psychotic drugs are prescribed by psychiatrists to treat bipolar disorder. These are termed to be mood stabilizers and help the patient as it goes into psychiatric treatment. The most common yet old used anti-psychotic drug nowadays is lithium. Dr.