Peter Silverstone, University of Alberta
Department of Psychiatry
Professor
Edmonton, Alberta
psilvers@ualberta.ca
Office:
(780) 407-6576
Bio/Research
The primary area for my research is trying to understand the underlying mechanism of action in bipolar disorder, formally called manic-depressive disorder. This is a common and severe psychiatric disorder in which a patient's mood swings between depression and elation (mania). For many years the ...
Click to Expand >>
Click to Expand >>
Bio/Research
The primary area for my research is trying to understand the underlying mechanism of action in bipolar disorder, formally called manic-depressive disorder. This is a common and severe psychiatric disorder in which a patient's mood swings between depression and elation (mania). For many years the standard treatment has been with lithium, a naturally occurring salt. More recently other drugs such as valproate and carbamazepine, initially introduced for the treatment of epilepsy, have also been shown to be helpful. However, one problem has been that we have had little understanding of how these drugs work. It is believed that if we can understand the action of these drugs then it will significantly advance our understanding of bipolar disease itself.
Click to Shrink <<
Click to Shrink <<