My question to you is how serious a problem is bipolar?

The Stanley Bipolar Foundation Network, which admittedly gets the sickest patients in its clinics, recently released this data 85.1 percent had been hospitalized in the past, on average three times. The rate of suicide attempts was 50.3 percent. A third were currently married, another third single, and the rest were separated, divorced, or widowed. Despite the fact that approximately 90 percent had high school diplomas and a third had completed college, almost 65 percent were unemployed and 40 percent were on welfare or disability. According to Mark Bauer MD of Brown University, speaking at a conference in 2001, thirty to 50 percent of bipolar patients remain chronically ill.

The good news is we can dramatically improve our chances by being compliant with our medications, and making lifestyle choices that contribute to our mental and physical well-being.

Can you talk about the demographics of bipolar?

Yes. Approximately one to two percent of the population suffers from bipolar, but some experts push the figure up to as high as five percent by adopting softer criteria for the illness. Equal numbers of men and women suffer from the illness. People tend to have their first episode in their late teens or early twenties, though they may have experienced some of the symptoms much earlier.

Can kids get bipolar?

Yes, and sad to say it appears to be far more frequent than in the past. Studies are finding bipolar kids are sicker than bipolar adults. A bipolar kid can rage out of control for hours and literally hold his family hostage. Because the illness on the surface appears similar to ADHD or conduct disorder, kids are usually misdiagnosed — often by psychiatrists who refuse to believe that kids can get bipolar — and are treated with the wrong drugs that make their condition worse.

So how do you tell a bipolar kid from one who has ADHD or conduct disorder?

Only by careful observation and long conversations with the parents. As opposed to those with ADHD or conduct disorder, for example, bipolar kids tend to be risk-seeking and grandiose, with nonstop flight of thoughts.

How controversial is the topic of bipolar in kids?

Very. Fortunately, the problem has been recognized, psychiatrists are waking up to the situation, and a lot of new research is underway. Much of the controversy centers on whether we should be giving kids meds that are intended for adults, but a lot of this comes from people who deny mental illness exists in the first place and who are opposed to all forms of psychiatry.

What causes bipolar?

We don’t really know, though we do know that genes predispose people to the illness, and that stress can trigger an episode. One possibility is there is an overabundance of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate in the synapse (the space between two neurons) due to cortisol, which is secreted as part of the "flight or fight" reaction to stress. The glia the "other" brain cell — is thought to clear excess glutamate from the synapse, but bipolar patients have a shortage of glia. Glutamate in turn generates calcium which flows through an ion channel penetrating the cell membrane and into the neuron and activates calcium dependent enzymes inside.