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Treatment of Childhood-Onset Bipolar Disorder

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Bipolar Depression: Molecular Neurobiology, Clinical Diagnosis, and Pharmacotherapy

Part of the book series: Milestones in Drug Therapy ((MDT))

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Abstract

Pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) is a serious condition, and a substantive need exists for evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents suffering from this condition. A fundamental intervention used in this patient population is pharmacotherapy. Despite the importance of medication treatment in this patient population, only limited amounts of methodologically stringent data exist pertaining to this form of intervention. The evidence that does exist suggests that some psychotropic medications can provide salutary effects for youths suffering from bipolar I disorder (BD-I). Also relevant is the pharmacotherapy of genetically at-risk children suffering from bipolar spectrum disorder and treatment of psychiatric comorbidities. Further placebo-controlled trials are needed in order to better characterize the efficacy and safety of psychotropic medications in this population.

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Acknowledgments/Disclosures

Dr. Findling receives or has received research support, acted as a consultant, and/or served on a speaker’s bureau for Alcobra, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Physician Institute, American Psychiatric Press, AstraZeneca, Bracket, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CogCubed, Cognition Group, Coronado Biosciences, Dana Foundation, Elsevier, Forest, GlaxoSmithKline, Guilford Press, Johns Hopkins University Press, Johnson and Johnson, Jubilant Clinsys, KemPharm, Lilly, Lundbeck, Merck, NIH, Neurim, Novartis, Noven, Otsuka, Oxford University Press, Pfizer, Physicians Postgraduate Press, Purdue, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals, Roche, Sage, Shire, Sunovion, Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Validus, and WebMD. Ms. Kaplin has no conflict of interest to disclose, financial or otherwise.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Dana Baker Kaplin MPH & Robert L. Findling MD, MBA

  2. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Bloomberg Children’s Center; Kennedy Krieger Institute, 1800 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Robert L. Findling MD, MBA

Authors
  1. Dana Baker Kaplin MPH
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  2. Robert L. Findling MD, MBA
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Correspondence to Robert L. Findling MD, MBA .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Carlos A. Zarate Jr.

  2. Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson and Johnson, Janssen Research and Development, Titusville, New Jersey, USA

    Husseini K. Manji

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Kaplin, D.B., Findling, R.L. (2016). Treatment of Childhood-Onset Bipolar Disorder. In: Zarate Jr., C., Manji, H. (eds) Bipolar Depression: Molecular Neurobiology, Clinical Diagnosis, and Pharmacotherapy. Milestones in Drug Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31689-5_14

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