Hi, I need help with essay on Middle Aged Women and Bipolar Disorder. Paper must be at least 1250 words. Please, no plagiarized work!Download file to see previous pages... Perimenopause is the period

Hi, I need help with essay on Middle Aged Women and Bipolar Disorder. Paper must be at least 1250 words. Please, no plagiarized work!

Perimenopause is the period during which a woman is undergoing a series of menstrual irregularities which signifies that they are moving towards reaching menopause. This process is normally seen in women between the ages of thirty five and fifty five (there is significant variation seen in the age of women in perimenopause and menopause) and is characterized by significant hormonal oscillation. The production of estrogen and progesterone gradually decreases whereas levels of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone increase. This hormonal fluctuation is the cause for the menstrual irregularities, insomnia, decreased fertility and mood disorders commonly noticed in middle aged women. Hormonal disturbances have a very strong co-relation with mood disturbances which is evident in the many researches carried out on this subject. The Penn Ovarian Aging Study conducted in 2004 revealed that women in the transitional period demonstrated a rise in depressive symptoms which gradually dropped after menopause. Although the menopause status of a woman is an independent predictor of depressive symptoms, the former also aggravates symptoms in women with pre-existing psychiatric conditions, especially bipolar disorder, as such women are more sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. (Gramann, 2011) Bipolar disorder is an illness in which the patient experiences phases of mood elevation (mania or hypomania) followed by depression. There are two types of this disorder. Type I and Type II. Type II bipolar disorder is more common in women and is characterized by a single or more major depressive episode, along with at least one episode of hypomania. In Type I patients experience a more prolonged episode of mania (more severe than hypomania) with intermittent depression. It is important to identify people with these disorders as they are associated with significant morbidity and mortality and are often misdiagnosed as depression, especially in cases of Type II. As women are generally more prone to depression, wrong diagnosis of this disorder as depression is common and leads to mismanagement of such patients. The peak incidence of bipolar disorder is seen between the ages of fifteen to thirty. Although the exact etiology of bipolar disorder is still unknown, there is growing evidence that the genetics of a person play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disorder. A person is at significantly more risk of developing bipolar disorder if a first degree relative, e.g. parents (relative risk 6.7) or sibling (relative risk 7.9), has already been diagnosed with the illness. Research also suggest that the gene encoding for the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase plays a role in the disorder’s pathogenesis (tryptophan hydroxylase is an enzyme for the synthesis of serotonin. serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for modulation of mood, sleep and appetite). Despite these efforts, there is growing need to conduct more studies in this regard so that medical professionals have a better understanding of this illness (Jeffrey Stovall, 2011). As indicated above, females with bipolar disorder demonstrate increased sensitivity to hormonal changes during their perimenopausal period and thus suffer from exaggerated manic and depressive phases.