[Pharmacological maintenance treatment of Bipolar Disorder]

Bipolar disorder is a chronic disease, with recurrent episodic characteristics. Pharmacological treatment must aim not only to the improvement of the acute episode but also to the stabilization of its cycles. The accurate election of the anticyclic drug during the maintenance period, the knowledge of the therapeutic algorythm for this stage and the management of the adherence to the medication plan are crucial; failures in this strategies constitute the first cause of relapse in this disease.