Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Latest Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Inflammatory shift in long-standing bipolar disorder

Patients with chronic bipolar disorder, but not those with schizophrenia, have a shift towards an M1 rather than an M2 macrophage response, research suggests.

15 Jul 2014

Openness predicts cognitive function in bipolar disorder

The degree of Openness to Experiences reported by patients with bipolar disorder could be used to identify potential candidates requiring more comprehensive cognitive assessments, US researchers report.

15 Jul 2014

Research finding could provide better understanding of severe mental illness

A neuroscientist at Rutgers University-Newark says the human brain operates much the same whether active or at rest - a finding that could provide a better understanding of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other serious mental health conditions that afflict an estimated 13.6 million Americans.

11 Jul 2014

Social environment may influence mood stabiliser adherence

The attitudes of patients with bipolar disorder towards mood-stabilising medications are influenced by their social support system, say researchers.

3 Jul 2014

Factors linked to bipolar cycle acceleration identified

Researchers have identified factors that are associated with cycle acceleration in patients with bipolar disorder admitted to hospital for a mood episode.

3 Jul 2014

New smartphone-based system detects changes in patients' behavioral patterns

Mental illness accounts for 90 percent of all reported suicides and places the largest burden of any disease on social and economic infrastructures worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

1 Jul 2014

Antidepressant risk in bipolar patients limited to monotherapy use

Antidepressants may cause problems in patients with bipolar disorder only when they are used in isolation, research suggests.

26 Jun 2014

Brain activation differences hint at developing course of bipolar disorder

Results of an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis highlight the differences and similarities in brain activation between youths and adults with bipolar disorder.

25 Jun 2014

Variable neurocognitive functioning seen in euthymic bipolar patients

A study lends further support to the notion that patients with bipolar disorder have heterogeneous cognitive abilities.

19 Jun 2014

Depression 5 times common in people with bipolar disorder who have low levels of cortisol

Depression is almost twice as common, and poor quality of life almost five times as common, in people with bipolar disorder who have elevated or low levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the blood.

19 Jun 2014

Children may benefit from targeted treatments specific to pediatric brain activity

A new study from Bradley Hospital has found that bipolar children have greater activation in the right amygdala - a brain region very important for emotional reaction - than bipolar adults when viewing emotional faces.

19 Jun 2014

New hope for people suffering from depression

There is new hope for people suffering from depression. Researchers have identified a compound, hydroxynorketamine (HNK), that may treat symptoms of depression just as effectively and rapidly as ketamine, without the unwanted side effects associated with the psychoactive drug, according to a study in the July issue of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists- (ASA-).

17 Jun 2014

Johns Hopkins to host 5th annual Graphic Medicine Conference

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Department of Art as Applied to Medicine is hosting the fifth annual Graphic Medicine Conference, to take place June 26 to June 28 in the Preclinical Teaching Building on the Johns Hopkins medical campus.

17 Jun 2014

Moving during childhood linked to increased schizophrenia risk

Childhood residential mobility is associated with an increased risk of psychotic disorders, particularly schizophrenia, during adulthood, according to results of a study conducted in Denmark.

16 Jun 2014

Alcohol, substance abuse doubles suicide risk in bipolar disorder

Patients with bipolar disorder and comorbid alcohol and substance use disorders are twice as likely to attempt suicide as those without such comorbidity, results of a systematic review and meta-analysis show.

16 Jun 2014

Tufts researchers gain new insight into protein associated with bipolar disorder

Researchers from Tufts have gained new insight into a protein associated with bipolar disorder. The study, published in the June 3 issue of Science Signaling, reveals that calcium channels in resting neurons activate the breakdown of Sp4, which belongs to a class of proteins called transcription factors that regulate gene expression.

12 Jun 2014

Cognitive decline not apparent in bipolar patients

Cognitive dysfunction is persistent but generally stable over time in patients with bipolar disorder, Spanish researchers report.

11 Jun 2014

Children of parents with BD are at greater risk of developing psychiatric disorders

Bipolar disorder (BD) is among the 10 most burdensome medical conditions, according to the World Health Organization. The disorder is known for its dramatic highs of extreme euphoria, racing thoughts and decreased need for sleep, as well as its profound lows of sadness and despair.

11 Jun 2014

Kids at risk for mental disorders experience communication breakdown in brain networks

Attention deficits are central to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and are thought to precede the presentation of the illnesses.

9 Jun 2014

Brain networks supporting attention do not communicate correctly in children at risk for bipolar disorder

Attention deficits are central to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and are thought to precede the presentation of the illnesses.

6 Jun 2014