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New Drug Approval Could Go a Long Way in Reducing
Teenage Suicide
Bipolar Disorder is one of the leading causes of suicide among
teenagers, and a new drug has just been approved to help treat this
disorder.
One of the world's largest pharmaceutical and healthcare companies,
AstraZeneca, announced that the FDA has approved SEROQUEL to help
treat patients suffering from bipolar 1 disorder. Previous to this
ruling, SEROQUEL was approved to help treat schizophrenia, and it
currently stands as the only single drug available to help reduce
the effects of both depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and
the acute manic episodes in those suffering from bipolar disorder
1 and 2.
The statistics on bipolar disorder are absolutely staggering. It
affects over 8 million adults in the United States, but the really
scary part is that this disorder often goes undiagnosed for years
before it is correctly identified. Typically those suffering from
bipolar disorder experience a rollercoaster ride of emotions - going
from being extremely depressed (and at times suicidal) to being
really outgoing and euphoric. In fact, the depressive stage of this
disorder can be so advanced that many sufferers actually commit
suicide, with bipolar disorder being listed as one of the top ten
reasons for death among teenagers.
This disorder is considered to be permanent, and most sufferers
experience their first bout of bipolar disorder in their twenties
- often having been brought to the surface by a deep or negative
emotional experience.
Having another drug approved to help with bipolar disorder is a
great start, but the primary problem with this disorder is that
it's symptoms often go undiagnosed in people for years (an avergage
of 10 years!) before they are correctly diagnosed and proper treatment
can be given. And these statistics are only for the United States
- you can imagine how many people worldwide suffer from this disorder,
and often go undiagnosed for their whole lives. So you can see where
the majority of the problem lies... trying to properly identify
the early symptoms of bipolar disorder so proper treatment can be
given.
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