Figure 1.

The life cycle of bipolar disease. The more severe form of bipolar disease (BD), called type I, firstly manifests a manic episode (red peak) followed by a depressive episode (blue peak). Following this first cycle, euthymic interphases (grey lines) progressively shorten until a relatively stable pattern of recurrence (single periods and/or entire cycles) develops over time. Concurrently, severity and duration of single episodes tends to increase, particularly for depressive episodes. This scheme illustrates the prototypical course of bipolar disease I whilst varying courses are common. First line treatments for manic episodes are neuroleptics and lithium. The latter can be also used for maintenance therapy of recurrent manic and/or depressive episodes.