| By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - More than half the manic depressives in Britain are not receiving available new drugs that have fewer side effects, medical experts said on Friday.
Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, affects about one in every 100 people in Britain. Older drugs control the mood swings but also produce serious side effects such as muscle stiffness, tremors and agitation. They are, however, cheaper.
"There are still some old medications that have a place, such as lithium. However with antipsychotics, which are used very widely in bipolar disorder, the new ones are usually preferred because they have a great tolerability," said Professor Allan Young, of Newscastle's Royal Victoria Hospital.
"The barriers to using the new drugs tend to be costs and perhaps a lack of evidence for their use in bipolar disorder. Certainly the cost is a critical issue," he added.
In a survey of 841 people with bipolar disorder, only 12 percent of patients were taking the newer treatments. Ninety percent of people on older, typical antipsychotics described the drugs as "the worst they had ever taken."
A quarter of people questioned in the survey also had sexual side effects, including impotence and low sperm production. More than 40 percent stopped taking the medication because of the unwanted side effects.
About one in five people who have stopped treatment eventually commit suicide, according to the Manic Depression Fellowship (MDF) charity.
"The data show that patients are still receiving cheaper, older drugs, which can cause distressing and debilitating side effects, despite the fact that there are more effective and better tolerated treatments available," said Michelle Rowett, chief executive of MDF, which conducted the survey.
Britain's National Institute of Clinical Excellence, a cost-effectiveness watchdog, is conducting a review of newer treatments for bipolar disorder.
"We need to have an agreement that the use of new treatments will be funded by healthcare systems," Young added.
Last Updated: 2003-05-16 10:00:32 -0400 (Reuters Health)
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