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Assessment and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in the Elderly

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  • Disease Management
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Summary

The aetiology of late-onset bipolar disorder is heterogeneous because the disease is more likely to have a secondary (i.e. a medical disorder or medication-induced) cause in older than in younger patients. Elderly patients with bipolar disorder typically require lithium dosages that are 25 to 50% lower than those used in younger individuals. Information on the use of valproic acid (sodium valproate) in elderly patients with bipolar disorder is limited but encouraging. In contrast, there is virtually no information regarding the use of carbamazepine or other drugs in this patient group. Electroconvulsive therapy is well tolerated by older people and can be useful for these patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geriatric Psychiatry Clinical Research Center, University of California, San Diego, California, USA

    John H. Eastham &  Dilip V. Jeste

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, California, USA

    Dilip V. Jeste

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York, USA

    Robert C. Young

  4. Department of Psychiatry, The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Westchester Division, White Plains, New York, USA

    Robert C. Young

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  1. John H. Eastham
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  2. Dilip V. Jeste
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  3. Robert C. Young
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Correspondence to Dilip V. Jeste.

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Eastham, J.H., Jeste, D.V. & Young, R.C. Assessment and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in the Elderly. Drugs & Aging 12, 205–224 (1998). https://doi.org/10.2165/00002512-199812030-00004

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