• Science Saturday: Could antidepressants cause treatment-emergent mania?

a woman reading the label on a medication bottle

In a study published in Molecular PsychiatryMark Frye, M.D., a Mayo Clinic researcher and collaborators, investigated the risk of treatment-emergent mania in bipolar disorder when treated with antidepressants.

"We found that antidepressants that increase mitochondrial energetics (cells that extract energy from nutrients for sustaining life) may elevate the risk of treatment-emergent mania," says Dr. Frye.

The increased energy expenditure of mania associated with impulsivity, poor judgment, psychosis and loss of insight can drive high-risk behaviors, often resulting in hospitalization or incarceration. The aftermath of mania can have an enduring negative effect on the patient's quality of life, explains Dr. Frye, the study's senior author.

Dr. Frye specializes in the neurobiology of bipolar disorders. Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression).

"These data suggest categorizing antidepressants based on mitochondrial energetics may be of value," says Dr. Frye.

Read the rest of the article on the Center for Individualized Medicine blog.

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