i saw that study noted in one of the clinician alert/update newsletters i get. my reaction is: they do these studies to discredit other treatments so they can turn around and promote their patented drugs fow whatever disorder. this is why biederman bothered to publish a study saying st. john's wort does not work for adhd (JAMA 2008 PMID: 18544723).

Unbelievable! after 6 years on Depakote for a misdiagnosis of childhood bipolar and resulting in permanent body damage of Polycystic Ovary syndrome (that only now is black box warned)this makes me livid. How would one tell my daughter about this? she took that drug 3xs a day for 6 years and would tell the psych that she felt agitated on it and the psych wouldn't listen.

Wilens is co-author to many studies with Joseph Biederman the head KOL theory-creator of the pediatric bipolar debacle.

This is a complete smack in the face to children like my daughter who suffered at the hands of this joke!

What does this mean for Depakote as treatment for adult bipolar disorder?

stephany: in my opinion, this evidence means nothing for adult bipolar. the evidence is pretty solid that lithium and or depakote are the leaders for efficacy for bipolar, if someone truly has bipolar. nothing has changed there. in my opinion, most of these cases of "bipolar disorder" in childhood or adolescence are not actually cases of bipolar disorder, but are symptoms or problems due to something else. I have a long answer about what the typical "something else" can be, but for this brief response, I will just say that a scientific study follows the old adage, the same as verything else: garbage in, garbage out. If you get a whole bunch of kids thrown into a study because their parents have been conned that the kids have bipolar when they don't it is not very difficult to discover that depakote, or any other med, does not "cure" the problem. Note, however, that this is just my opinion, and you and everyone else are free to believe that there is an epidemic of childhood bipolar if you want.

There's no such thing as pediatric bipolar disorder in my view.

Meds vs therapy, you must be addressing Francesca's question.

I did not ask about adult bipolar.

BUT> you said, " Note, however, that this is just my opinion, and you and everyone else are free to believe that there is an epidemic of childhood bipolar if you want."

Thanks, but I don't need your or anyone else's permission or validation to believe anything; and my personal view on this is based on a MIS diagnosis of my daughter at age 11 in 1999 of pediatric bipolar, she was drugged for no reason, gained 100lbs on Depakote and Zyprexa and has permanent disablement as a result.

An increase of 4000% of pediatric bipolar IS an epidemic, it's an outrage, and these drugs have no long term studies for safety being used in growing child's bodies and brains.

IF you were to see my daughter in person, you, most likely as other people have---would cry.

The loss is too enormous on a scale to even begin to describe.

My comment is not open for debate, or rather, I am not.