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Pharmacy Practice Department, Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, NY
Published Online, October 30, 2007. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1K377
Audience: This book was designed as a reference for healthcare providers in the mental health field.
Purpose: The goal of the authors was to provide a comprehensive review of the pharmacotherapeutic treatment options for bipolar disorder based mainly on the literature rather than on treatment guidelines. This text is an in-depth review of the primary literature that is most appropriate for a specialized audience or those taking an elective course.
Content: The text is divided into 22 chapters and has 4 appendices. While the chapters themselves are not divided into formal sections, the organization of the chapters creates 4 separate sections that follow a logical progression. The first section includes 3 chapters that cover background information on bipolar disorder and its classifications along with a discussion on mood stabilizers as a medication class. Chapters 4–11 cover medications in bipolar disorder. These chapters discuss medications or classes of medications used in the treatment of patients with bipolar disoder as well as medications that have been implicated in exacerbating depressive or manic episodes in bipolar patients. In Chapters 12–19, the authors review treatment during various phases of bipolar illness, including rapid cycling and mixed states. The final 3 chapters cover the literature and rationale used in treating special populations, such as pregnant and breast-feeding women, pediatric patients/adolescents, and geriatric populations.
Usability: This book has a narrow focus and is detail oriented. The material is comprehensive and is repeated in different chapters, allowing readers to flip to specific areas for review without needing to have read previous chapters.
Highlights: The pharmacotherapeutic approach includes information on special populations that often is not included in general reviews. The references are mainly recent primary literature sources.
Limitations: The manuscript was translated from French, which results in the use of a few awkward phrases and of terminology that may create initial obstacles for the reader. The chapters are comprehensive, but the sheer volume of literature examples is somewhat overwhelming. Also, there are not many clear summaries or conclusions given by the authors. Key Point boxes at the end of the chapters contain broad, vague concepts instead of the main points of the chapter. The amount of data also makes analysis of the individual atypical antipsychotics cumbersome, as the data seem to meld together.
Comparison with Previous Edition: There is no previous published English-language version; however, it was noted that this version was revised, with more than 500 new references added.
Comparison with Other Related Books or Products: There are few texts available whose focus is specifically on the pharmacotherapy of bipolar disorder, making this book unique.
Reviewer's Summary: This book provides a comprehensive review of bipolar disorder, with a focus on the primary literature. As a result, the chapters are rich in content but at times difficult to interpret and apply. The authors achieved their purpose of compiling a resource for psychiatry providers based mainly on reviews of the literature. However, the volume of data is overwhelming at times, resulting in multiple readings of a section or a longer period of time for the reader to truly get a handle on the content. Short summaries at the end of each chapter are needed. The book is appropriately priced. This product would be useful for individuals specializing in mood disorders who need a refresher and potentially useful for newly emerging researchers. The text itself is too cumbersome and difficult to be easily used by academicians and everyday prescribers, and it likely is too detailed for students who are starting to specialize in the area of bipolar disorder.
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