"Unipolar" and "bipolar" are terms describing mood disorders. Someone with a unipolar mood disorder has only one type of mood disturbance, such as depression or mania. Bipolar means having two alternating mood disturbances. For example, a...
Unipolar depression, also known as major depression, is one of the disorders in the depression spectrum. Dr. Arthur Schoenstadt, author of the article "Depression Statistics," states that 17.1 million adults in the United States (8 percent of the...
Unipolar depression, also known as major depressive disorder, afflicts approximately 14.8 million American adults each year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Per the criteria of the American Psychiatric Association, its...
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener discovered in 1965 and became a popular diet additive. As aspartame's popularity grew, so did questions about aspartame's effects. A 2007 review of many aspartame studies in "Critical Reviews of Toxicology"...
Fat globules within your skin are called cellulite. It is a combination of water trapped in connective tissue, cellular waste matter and fat globules. Cellulite is a common cosmetic problem that can start in the adolescence years and mostly...
Bipolar II is a psychological disorder that involves periods of hypomania, which is a less severe form of mania, and depression. The distinction of bipolar II as a separate disorder is relatively new, but the distinction from bipolar I is very...
Affective disorders involve a single group of mental disorders that are characterized by disturbances of emotion, thought and behavior. According to the International Society for Affective Disorders, affective disorders include mood and anxiety...
Many factors contribute to the development of cellulite. The most significant is the accumulation of fat within pockets under the surface of the skin. With this fat, collagen fibers that connect fat to skin stretch and weaken, which allows some of...
Depression is a mental disorder characterized by sadness, lack of motivation, sleep changes, appetite disturbance, difficulty with normal functioning and sometimes suicidal thoughts. When depressive symptoms occur on their own, they are known as...
Depression, with its many types and causes, is a complex subject. While most discussion focuses on either bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder (MDD), which is sometimes called "unipolar" depression, clinical references are also made to...
Depression is a serious condition that may become disabling if untreated. There are several forms of depression, including unipolar and bipolar depression, chronic or recurrent depression, depression occurring as a result of pregnancy and...
About one-quarter of all American adults suffer from a mental health disorder in any given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The psychologist's handbook for diagnosis, the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of...
Major depression (unipolar depression) and bipolar disorder (manic depression) are two mood disorders that can run in families, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Both disorders have different symptoms and treatment considerations.
In 1901, Willem Einthoven invented the EKG machine. The EKG, or electrocardiogram, is a diagnostic tool widely used to measure the electrical activity of the heart. In addition to providing health care professionals with a record of cardiac...
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that major depressive disorders affect approximately 14.8 million American adults, and bipolar disorder affects another 5.7 million American adults, every year.
Lamictal is the brand name for a medication called lamotrigine. Lamotrigine is an anti-convulsant, which means it is often prescribed as a treatment for epilepsy. However, Lamictal can also be used to treat depression. It is most commonly used to...
A person who has at least five signs of depression for at least two weeks may be diagnosed with major depression. Major depression, which the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) says affects approximately 15 million American adults, is...
Clinical depression, which is also known as major depression or unipolar depression, is a condition that causes prolonged episodes of severe sadness. In some cases, this condition can lead to suicide or self mutilation. When properly diagnosed...
Manic depression, or bipolar disorder, is a mood disorder where patients have both depression and mania symptoms. Mania and depression are on opposite sides of the mood spectrum: depression is categorized by sadness and hopelessness, while mania...
Medication is the treatment of choice and the primary resource for coping with manic depression, a type of mood disorder characterized by severe mood swings which alternate between mania and depression. Manic depression is the popular name for a...
Bipolar disorder, historically known as manic depression, is a serious and chronic condition that involves extreme shifts of mood, energy and functioning that typically profoundly affects a patient for a lifetime. The National Alliance for Mental...
Major depression affects 15 million American adults per year and remains the leading cause of disability in the U.S., according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Major depression is persistent and can seriously impair daily living...
Major depressive disorder is a unipolar disorder characterized by depressed mood that is not better accounted for by substance use (drugs, alcohol, medication), a general medical condition, a mixed episode (including manic and depressive...
People with bipolar disorder experience intense mood swings from mania to depression. Unfortunately, nearly 70 percent of bipolar people get misdiagnosed, according to a 2000 study by Robert Hirschfeld, M.D and colleagues at the University of...
Medication is the treatment of choice and the primary resource for coping with bipolar disorder, a type of mood disorder usually characterized by mood swings which alternate between mania or hypomania and depression or dysthymia. It is imperative...
Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, affects millions of Americans. While medication interventions have improved the prognosis for bipolar disorder, most continue to suffer disability and dysfunction, ranging from poor...
Depression is a serious medical problem that can make it difficult for you to go about your life in a normal manner. Many factors affect your risk for depression, including family history, recent stressful events and early childhood trauma. What...
A mood disorder characterized by sadness, depression affects a patient's emotional state and behavior. Depression can cause poor concentration, which can affect memory and thinking. There are a variety of treatment options available for...
Lexapro belongs to a newer class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. Serotonin, a chemical secreted throughout the brain, contributes to a general sense of well being and regulates energy levels, sleep...