Resolving bulimia nervosa using an innovative neural therapy approach: two case reports.

Conventional treatment of Bulimia Nervosa is long term, expensive, and often ineffective. Neural therapy holds promise for treating Bulimia Nervosa in a shorter term, lower cost, and more effective manner. Much of neural therapy involves the superficial injection of local anesthetic injections. Implementation into current practice would be feasible.

An Individualized Approach to Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Disorder: A Case Series.

CONTEXT: Treatment-resistant bipolar disorder (TRBD) is an increasingly prevalent, debilitating condition with substandard treatment outcomes. Polypharmacy has become the mainstay among practitioners though long-term efficacy of this method has not been adequately tested. OBJECTIVE: Determine retrospectively if individualized, integrative treatment strategies applied while withdrawing pharmaceuticals were beneficial and safe among a TRBD clinic population. DESIGN: A chart review was performed for six adult patients, treated in a private psychiatric practice. Data were collected regarding psychiatric diagnosis, hospitalizations, medications, side effects, substance abuse, and applied treatments. RESULTS: Using individualized, integrative psychiatric treatment methods, the majority of medications were eliminated. Long-term remission was attained in all cases, defined as clinical stability with no discernable symptoms of bipolar disorder for at least one year. CONCLUSIONS: Applying an integrative treatment approach, and eliminating most medications, provided lasting resolution of symptoms and side effects in a selected sample of TRBD outpatients. These data may provide the basis for future randomized, controlled trials.

Medication-free Alternatives for Long-term Maintenance of Bipolar Disorder: A Case Series.

Psychopharmacological treatment has been the mainstay in long-term maintenance of bipolar disorder (BD) patients for the last 60 years. Conventionally accepted treatment options are primarily based on expert opinion rather than on well-executed, independently funded research. Investigation of maintaining patients without medications using treatment alternatives has been neglected. This clinical case series examines the outcomes of 7 BD patients who experienced a poor response or significant side effects with conventional treatment modalities. Patients were gradually and safely withdrawn from all medications. Treatment strategies were based on an individualized holistic approach using herbs, nutritional supplements, vitamins, amino acids, acupuncture, dietary recommendations, and behavioral modifications. Multiple treatment modalities were combined addressing the etiological causes for BD symptoms. Upon withdrawal from psychotropic medications, patients were free of medication-induced side effects and obtained psychiatric stability for at least 10 months. Further research is needed to investigate the long-term outcomes of BD treatment modalities based on well-defined successful outcome criteria, such as reduction in symptoms, improvement in quality of life, overall health outcomes, and cost effectiveness.

El tratamiento psicofarmacológico ha sido el pilar fundamental en el mantenimiento a largo plazo de los pacientes con trastorno bipolar durante los últimos 60 años. Las opciones terapéuticas aceptadas convencionalmente se basan principalmente en la opinión de los expertos y no en investigaciones bien realizadas y financiadas de forma independiente. La investigación del mantenimiento de pacientes sin medicamentos usando tratamientos alternativos no ha recibido mucha atención. Esta serie de casos clínicos examina los resultados de 7 pacientes con trastorno bipolar que experimentaron una respuesta escasa o efectos secundarios significativos con modalidades de tratamiento convencionales. A los pacientes se les retiró toda la medicación de forma gradual y segura. Las estrategias terapéuticas se basaron en un enfoque individual holístico, utilizando productos de herboristería, suplementos nutricionales, vitaminas, aminoácidos, acupuntura, recomendaciones dietéticas y modificaciones del comportamiento. Se combinaron múltiples modalidades terapéuticas para abordar las causas etiológicas de los síntomas de trastorno bipolar. Tras la retirada de la medicación psicotrópica, los pacientes no tenían efectos secundarios inducidos por los fármacos y habían conseguido estabilidad psiquiátrica durante al menos 10 meses. Es necesaria más investigación para averiguar los resultados a largo plazo de las modalidades terapéuticas del trastorno bipolar basados en criterios de resultados positivos bien definidos, tales como la reducción de los síntomas, la mejora de la calidad de vida, los resultados generales de salud, y la rentabilidad.