Manic-Depressive Illness

The revolution in psychiatry that began mid-century has led to dramatic advances in the understanding and treatment of manic-depressive illness. No other mental disorder has been the subject of such clinically useful and scientifically productive research. This book is the first to survey this massive body of evidence comprehensively and to assess its meaning for both clinician and scientist. It also vividly portrays the experience of manic-depressive illness from the perspective of patients, their doctors, and researchers, and recounts the torments of some of the great poets and composers whose art was almost certainly enriched, energized, and deepened by the extremes of manic-depressive illness.
Drawing on the wisdom of classic psychiatric authors, the book encompasses knowledge about manic-depressive illness as Kraepelin originally defined it. Drs. Goodwin and Jamison's understanding of the illness, gained from their own extensive research and clinical experience, guided their interpretation of the literature. Like Kraepelin, they emphasize the cyclical course of manic-depressive illness and the essential unity of its bipolar and recurrent unipolar forms. Encyclopedic in scope, this volume exhaustively reviews the biological and genetic literature that has dominated the field in recent years. It also surveys the psychological and epidemiological evidence, as well as that pertaining to diagnostic issues, course, and outcome. The authors offer practical guidelines for differential diagnosis and clinical management. The medical treatment of manic and depressive episodes is described, strategies for preventing future episodes are given in detail, and psychotherapeutic issues common in this illness are considered. Special emphasis is given to fostering compliance with medication regimens and treating bipolar patients who abuse drugs and alcohol or who pose a risk of suicide. This book, the product of a decade of work, will be a valuable addition to the libraries of psychiatrists and other physicians, psychologists, clinical social workers, neuroscientists, pharmacologists, and the patients and families who live with manic-depressive illness.

Frederick K. Goodwin is at National Institutes of Health. Kay Redfield Jamison is at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.