Evolution of manic-depressive diagnosis from 1910 to 1950s

Manic-Depressive Insanity or the Term Melancholia

Manic-depressive Insanity

The main topic that will be considered in the paper is manic depression. Two papers from different historical periods will be chosen for the paper for a detailed analysis and for any change of concepts of manic depression over time. The first chosen article is from the year 1910, "Diagnosis in States of Depression," written by Bedford Pierce. Second article chosen for the paper is from 1950s, "Clinical and Biochemical Investigations in a Manic Depressive with Short Cycles," written by R. Klein. The search and selection of these two articles is based on the fact that the importance of the manic depression was realized. Based on these facts, two articles were chosen. The comparison of the concepts given in the two articles will be compared with respect to the timelines.

Summary of the articles

The first article published in 1910 refers to a variety of patients highlighted as case studies. Some of the main categories of patients that have been highlighted in the article include the patients who exhibit mentally unstable activities based on their drug and alcohol-based habits. Second case study highlights insane patient diagnosed with intense depression based on multiple suicide attempts. Third case study is that of people in their secondary stages of dementia, which in accordance to the author is the last stage of mental enfeeblement. This stage has been argued by the author as being unrecoverable making the patients end up in the asylum for a longer period of time (Pierce, 1910, p. 1334). Third case has been detailed out by the author highlighting the fact that impulsive symptoms have been seen in the patients that include sudden laughter, weeping, strange postures and in some cases, refusal towards food. This state has been mentioned as Dementia praecox by the author. Dementia praecox has been defined as the loss of mental faculties and the cognitive abilities are lost in the terminal stages of the disease. Fourth important case is that of psychasthenic states and these have been defined by the presence of hallucinations that haunt an individual to the level that make life difficult. Suicidal attempts are not seen in these patients but regular talks about life not being worth living are observed. Lastly, melancholia has been defined by the author as a mental state that can be divided into two main parts, one is where the person suffers from manic depression and the second kinds where the symptoms of late age years become evident. Attacks of mania or folie circular are the terms used by the author in which the patient gets delusional displaying stranger habits. The author in the end has concluded that not all patients suffering from depression are manic-depressives.

The second article has defined manic depression in a more accurate manner. Manic depressives get attacks of shorter duration. In order to asset the fact and the finding in relation to the symptoms seen in the manic depressives, case study of a manic depressive has been given. The case has highlighted the conditions of an army officer whose symptoms of depression started to appear within a three-year period. Frequently alternating admission to the hospital and discharging has been mentioned with alternate numbers of depression and manic cycles. Manic cycles were frequent spanning the period of more than two months and depression would last in two weeks. Some of the main symptoms as highlighted by the authors include sleeplessness, and sudden attacks of manic depression, which were regular during the night. The authors have linked these symptoms with biochemical changes in the body that include blood pressures, level of water in the body and the extent of urination (Klein, 1950, p. 294).

Analysis

An important fact noticed in the first article is that the first article defined the main concepts of a number of mental illnesses with the help of case studies study the symptoms and concluding the differences in the conditions. The second article has highlighted manic depression as a form of mental illnesses in which cycles of manic attacks and depression alternate. Interesting facts have been gathered from the articles as learning of the early concepts of mental illnesses and manic depression occurred.

If the articles are analyzed in relation to the two time periods, one of the main social limitations that have been seen especially in the case of the second study is that the army officer without being diagnosed and treated properly was discharged from the rank. Frequent admissions and discharges to and from the hospital mention the fact that no proper diagnosis has accelerated the person's condition, based on which the symptoms have prolonged. In today's perspective, the articles lack an in-depth analysis of the symptoms, based on which no correct or accurate diagnosis has been made. Secondly the content of the article is only based on the discussion of the symptoms rather the diagnosis.