Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Latest Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Clinical practice study supports ISBD recommendations

Findings in patients with bipolar disorder given short-term antidepressant treatment support the recent International Society for Bipolar Disorder’s task force recommendations.

2 Oct 2014

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation to honor 8 scientists for achievements in psychiatric research

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation will honor eight scientists with its 2014 Outstanding Achievement Prizes for work delving into psychiatric disorders that affect one in four people. The awards, which celebrate the transformative power of neuroscience and psychiatric research to improve the lives of people with mental illness, will be presented at the Foundation's National Awards Dinner at the Pierre Hotel.

30 Sep 2014

Patrick F. Sullivan honored with 2014 Lieber Prize for making contributions to schizophrenia research

Patrick F. Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP, M. Hayworth & Family Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Genetics and Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, is one of two researchers awarded the 2014 Lieber Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Schizophrenia Research.

30 Sep 2014

Three institutions collaborate to study genetics of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia

Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Medical School and collaborators at two other institutions will undertake the largest whole genome sequencing study funded to date, as they seek to better understand bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

30 Sep 2014

Researchers awarded $16 million NIMH grant to create genetic resource for psychiatric disorders

A multi-institutional team of researchers studying schizophrenia and bipolar disorder has been awarded a $16 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to create the most extensive genetic resource to date for these two devastating psychiatric disorders, using data assembled by the University of Southern California.

26 Sep 2014

Weight cycling linked to relapse-prone bipolar course

Patients with bipolar disorder are more likely than healthy controls to have a history of weight cycling, which in turn is associated with an increased likelihood of manic and depressive episodes, researchers report.

25 Sep 2014

ECT benefits demonstrated in randomised controlled trial

Electroconvulsive therapy is more effective than pharmacological treatment for the reduction of depressive symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant bipolar depression, Norwegian study data show.

24 Sep 2014

Stress coping strategies may protect against bipolar disorder recurrence

Researchers have found a link between low levels of resilience to stress in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and impulsive behaviour, which may make them vulnerable to depressive episodes.

18 Sep 2014

Benefits and risks of hatha yoga for people with bipolar disorder

Right now no one can say whether yoga provides clinical benefits to people with bipolar disorder, but in a new article in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice, researchers report survey responses they gathered from scores of people with the condition who practice yoga. What the collective testimony suggests is that yoga can be a substantial help, but it sometimes carries risks, too.

18 Sep 2014

Recovery-focused CBT aids bipolar patients

Cognitive behavioural therapy that is focused broadly on patients’ recovery may be an effective intervention for patients with recent-onset bipolar disorder, a pilot randomised trial indicates.

17 Sep 2014

Life events may worsen bipolar I disorder course

A study suggests that negative life events may trigger depressive episodes in patients with bipolar I disorder.

17 Sep 2014

Cyclothymic temperament linked to suicidality

The presence of a cyclothymic temperament in inpatients with bipolar disorder may indicate a high likelihood of hopelessness and suicidality, report researchers.

17 Sep 2014

FDA approves Contrave extended-release tablets for chronic weight management

Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. and Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc. jointly announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Contrave® extended-release tablets as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adults with an initial body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obese), or 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition.

11 Sep 2014

Type 2 diabetes adds to hospital mortality risk in bipolar patients

Type 2 diabetes is a major contributor to mortality in patients with bipolar disorder who are admitted to general hospitals, a study shows.

3 Sep 2014

Longer looks: A new kind of abortion war; foster kids and psychotropic drugs

While pro-life activists fight to rescue IVF embryos from the freezer, pregnant women in their third trimester with catastrophic fetal anomalies have nowhere to turn. ... Perhaps there is no other issue that touches on so many core dimensions of American society-;legal, medical, scientific, theological, political, philosophical, biological, ethical, and ecological. What some on one side of the debate call reproductive justice, others call taking a life. What some call a person, others call a cluster of cells.

28 Aug 2014

Optimal personalised treatment improves bipolar life quality, functioning

Optimal personalised treatment improves quality of life and functioning of patients with bipolar disorder type I or II, suggests research published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

28 Aug 2014

Aberrant reward processing likely to precede bipolar symptom onset

Healthy children who have a parent with bipolar disorder show altered brain activation during reward processing, research shows.

28 Aug 2014

Study sheds new light on sleep drunkenness disorder

A study is shining new light on a sleep disorder called "sleep drunkenness". The disorder may be as prevalent as affecting one in every seven people. The research is published in the August 26, 2014, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

26 Aug 2014

Fitness-related traits in bipolar disorder relatives may explain disease persistence

Unaffected twins of patients with bipolar disorder show enhanced neurocognitive function and positive temperament traits, research shows.

21 Aug 2014

Survey of veterans receiving mental health services finds general satisfaction

A survey of U.S. veterans receiving mental health services from the Veterans Health Administration finds general satisfaction, but also significant room for improvement among all areas studied.

21 Aug 2014