[Psychopharmacotherapy of bipolar affective diseases]

The broadening of the classification systems for manic-depressive illness towards a spectrum of bipolar disorders implicates a more differentiated use of pharmacotherapies. However, many questions still remain open. This implies that all consensus guidelines and recommendations have to be considered as preliminary. On the other hand, research in the last decade has developed many new treatment alternatives, both for mood stabilizers and antidepressants as well as antipsychotics. These recommendations, which have been developed in the process of two consensus meetings, try to consider the broadening of the concept of bipolar disorder by differentiating between subgroups according to acute symptomatology and characteristics of the long-term course, e.g., rapid cycling. In particular, the emerging role and new indications of mood stabilizing antiepileptic drugs, atypical antipsychotics, and new antidepressants will be discussed.