Bipolar affective disorder - a mental disorder, manifested affective states - manic, hypomanic and depressive, and mixed states in which the patient's symptoms of depression and mania at the same time, a rapid change of symptoms.

These states are periodically in the form of phases, directly or through the "light" periods of mental health, replace each other. For the first time as an independent mental disorder bipolar disorder was described in 1854 almost simultaneously by two French explorers called "circular insanity" or "insanity in two forms. However, for nearly half a century is a mental disorder was not recognized by psychiatry at that time.

In 1896 Kraepelin introduced the name for this disorder manic-depressive psychosis, which is a long time, it was generally accepted, but is now considered outdated and scientifically flawed, as this disorder is not always accompanied by psychosis, and also when it is not always observed in both types of phases (and mania and depression). Currently, for this mental disorder made more scientific and politically correct name "bipolar disorder", abbreviated as BAR. So far, in psychiatry in different countries and different schools within one state has no uniform definition and understanding of the boundaries of this disorder.

The etiology of bipolar disorder and what causes bipolar disorder to date is not clear. Main theories that try to explain the causes of disease, two: the hereditary and self-poisoning (disorders of the endocrine balance, disruption of water-electrolyte metabolism). Most often the first signs of bipolar disorder appear in young age - 20-30 years. The number of phases possible in every patient is unpredictable - disorder can manifest itself in my life just manic, hypomanic, or just depressive phases only or whether they change with the alternation of right or wrong.

Duration of phases ranging from several weeks to 1, 5-2 years (on average 3-7 months), duration of "light" periods (intermission or interphases) between the phases can be from 3 to 7 years, "light" period may be entirely absent. Atypical phases may appear disproportionate to the severity of core disorders, incomplete development stages within a single phase, extending the phase structure of obsessive-compulsive psychopathology, senestopathic, hypochondriacally, heterogeneous-delusion (especially paranoid), hallucinatory and catatonic disorders.Major role in the treatment of the manic phase are mood stabilizers (lithium drugs, carbamazepine), but for quick removal of symptoms is necessary to antipsychotics, with priority given to atypical - classical antipsychotics may not only cause a depression, but also cause ecstapyramid violations to which patients are especially prone BAR, and especially to tardive dyskinesia - irreversible damage leading to disability.