USA Today (12/8, Lopez) reported, “As more kids are diagnosed with bipolar disorder [BD] at earlier ages, parents wonder whether psychiatric drugs such as Depakote [valproic acid, divalproex] and lithium are really the answer — and how they might affect their child’s growth and development.” Just “last week after 10 years of debate, psychiatrists approved updates to their diagnostic manual of mental illnesses, including the addition of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, describing children who have outbursts three or more times a week. The new term aims to address concerns about overdiagnosis and overmedication of bipolar disorder in children, and gives psychiatrists a way to differentiate between bipolar and other explosive outbursts.”
Related Links:
— “Parents struggle with decision to medicate bipolar kids, “Korina Lopez, USA Today, December 8, 2012.