Manic-depressive illness: How close are scientists in finding a cure for it?!
Question: Well, part of really finding a cure, is finding a cause (assuming there's only one), and we haven't figured that out yet. There may be multiple paths that bring people to express the symptoms of bipolar disorder (the technical name for it). The reason it's called a disorder, rather than a disease, is because there's no confirmed physical pathology for it. It's defined by it's symptoms, and as such, we're not sure even whether it's a single disease or multiple ones that manifest similar symptoms. The reality is that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about our own brains.
Having said all that, psychiatry has come pretty close with Lithium. Lithium at the correct dose can dramatically reduce or eliminate symptoms in persons with bipolar disorder. Bipolar is now one of the more successfully treated psychiatric disorders out there, and there's no reason why most people can't deal with it. Untreated, it can be one of the more debilitating disorders. Before lithium, many patients committed suicide or were institutionalized.
Answers: Well, part of really finding a cure, is finding a cause (assuming there's only one), and we haven't figured that out yet. There may be multiple paths that bring people to express the symptoms of bipolar disorder (the technical name for it). The reason it's called a disorder, rather than a disease, is because there's no confirmed physical pathology for it. It's defined by it's symptoms, and as such, we're not sure even whether it's a single disease or multiple ones that manifest similar symptoms. The reality is that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about our own brains.
Having said all that, psychiatry has come pretty close with Lithium. Lithium at the correct dose can dramatically reduce or eliminate symptoms in persons with bipolar disorder. Bipolar is now one of the more successfully treated psychiatric disorders out there, and there's no reason why most people can't deal with it. Untreated, it can be one of the more debilitating disorders. Before lithium, many patients committed suicide or were institutionalized.
not very close at all......only methods to control/try to control the symptoms........
I don't think they are any closer than they ever were.
It's not really possible to determine "how close" we are to finding a cure until a cure has actually been found.
I'd say not particularly close; like most mental health problems it's still not been determined what precisely causes or aggravates manic depressive symptoms, in whom it's most common, nor what's best for treating it. I doubt a 'cure' will be found until neurologists begin to understand the brain chemistry behind it.
i dont know about the cure but they are finding out that they can look at a person's mri scanning and tell at what stage they are at in also if they are diagnosed with the correct problem because alot of people have been wrongly diagnosed
they are close but still have to use medications at this time.
I dated a Manic Depressive, in her Manic period, M. was a lot of fun, but she was a nightmare when she went into her Depressive period. She was on Rx but I never saw improvement, and as she became older, her condition worsened. I feared for her, I kept expecting to hear from her Family that she had committed Suicide. She is/was a beautiful Woman. I have not known anything about her in many years, but I still Pray for her.
~OM~
SFCU
I'm sure they've already found one years ago. But because there are so many people with this illness, pharmaceutical companies don't want the cure getting out because that would mean less business/cash for them.
In the words of one of my brothers, marijuana is good for so many things from mental/emotional problems, anxiety, to pain management and stomach ulcers...but why isn't it on the market legally? Because if it were and because it's so easy to grow, Pfizer and all those other big name drug companies wouldn't get any profit.
If you think about it, bipolar is a neurological problem, chemical imbalances. I'm sure if there were some way to get into the brain to stimulate that part of the brain that is effected by such mental disorders the symptoms would go away. After all, migraines occur in your brain but having some peppermint (which is n-a-t-u-r-a-l) will help to decrease the pain, as will hot packs and drinking more water. Medicine is just an easier profit. I mean...high cholesterol is often times inherited and that is inside your body...it can be dealt with by eating healthy and getting exercise.
And I'm being serious.