Pharmacotherapy for Mood, Anxiety, and Cognitive Disorders

Our limited knowledge of the pathophysiology underlying mood disorders contrasts sharply with the efficacy of the treatment modalities developed over the past decades. There has been an explosion of new antidepressant and anxiolytic medications, as well as mood stabilizers and compounds that aim to improve cognition. Although treatment success is still not optimal, pharmacotherapy for mood disorders and cognitive disorders is effective and is improving. Pharmacotherapy for Mood, Anxiety, and Cognitive Disorderstakes a critical look at the medications available for treating mood, anxiety and cognitive disorders; their relevance to pathobiology and underlying mechanisms; and their limitations. Its 90 distinguished contributors, many of them pioneers in the development of treatment modalities, provide background and rationale in understanding the underlying mechanisms of frontline treatments for these disorders. This book reviews Effective new alternatives in mood stabilizers and antidepressant interventions Advances in the study of the pathobiology of anxiety disorders as well as available treatment choices, including anxiolytic medications Several treatment approaches to dementia and other age-related cognitive impairments Gender differences in the treatment of depression and anxiety and the different responses to pharmacotherapy New treatments for social phobia and pharmacological strategies for cognitive disorders Providing both a broad overview and detailed reviews of pharmacotherapy, this resource is essential reading for any practitioner who wants to understand the rationale and background for the drugs he or she prescribes and to assess medications that are currently under development. It is a great reference and ancillary text for students and residents during their clinical years.