ABSTRACT
The range of treatments approved for bipolar disorder (BD) has broadened substantially over the past decade, with all treatments other than lithium only having received regulatory approval as of 1995 or later. The expanded range of treatments has had the greatest impact on management of mania both acutely and in maintenance care. Studies of mania have had several advantages over studies of depression or other behavioral facets of BDs. A straightforward paradigm of studying a drug versus placebo in hospitalizedmanic patients and employment of change in a short, two-item scale has proved a robust model for all currently approved drugs (1,2). Enrollment into such studies has been relatively easy to achieve, as hospitalization is clinically indicated for most such patients, patients are readily assessed while in an inpatient setting, and side effects are relatively well-tolerated for a short period by manic patients.
