Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Latest Bipolar Disorder News and Research

NARSAD grants to fund research into psychiatric illness by 40 mid-career scientists

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation today announced its 2014 NARSAD Independent Investigator Grants, which will award $4 million in funding to 40 mid-career scientists from 33 institutions in nine countries. Selected by the Foundation's Scientific Council, comprised of 146 leading experts across disciplines in brain and behavior research including two Nobel Prize winners, the grants fund basic research, new technologies and next generation therapies for schizophrenia, major affective disorders, and other serious mental illnesses.

28 Mar 2014

Staging model, biomarker proposed for bipolar disorder

Researchers have proposed a model of early and late staging for patients with bipolar disorder according to functioning, number of episodes, age at onset and the time elapsed since first episode.

27 Mar 2014

EEG findings specific to mood state in bipolar disorder

The electrical activity of the brain differs in patients with bipolar disorder according to whether they are experiencing a manic or depressed phase, research shows.

27 Mar 2014

Bidirectional link between life events and mood episodes

The link between life events and mood episodes in patients with bipolar disorder is bidirectional, with positive and negative life events having different effects, report researchers.

27 Mar 2014

Stem cell research opens doors to potential new treatments for bipolar disorder

What makes a person bipolar, prone to manic highs and deep, depressed lows? Why does bipolar disorder run so strongly in families, even though no single gene is to blame? And why is it so hard to find new treatments for a condition that affects 200 million people worldwide?

26 Mar 2014

Study: Mood stabilizing drug may help prevent head and neck cancer

A new study indicates that a commonly used mood stabilizing drug may help prevent head and neck cancer. The study is published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

24 Mar 2014

Six dimensions explain mania symptom variability

Researchers have identified a six-factor latent structure that they say best describes the symptomatology of hospitalized patients with bipolar mania.

21 Mar 2014

Illness course impacts suicide risk in bipolar and depressive disorder

Differing illness course, rather than the illness itself, is the greatest determinant of the differential risk of suicide attempts between patients with bipolar disorder and those with major depressive disorder, study findings indicate.

20 Mar 2014

Two new risk loci for bipolar disorder identified

Researchers have found two new risk loci for bipolar disorder in a genome-wide association study of 2.3 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

19 Mar 2014

Bipolar disorder and epilepsy could be linked

A preliminary study adds to evidence that bipolar disorder and epilepsy may be different expressions of common pathways.

19 Mar 2014

Study examines costs linked with specific inpatient mental health diagnoses for children

Nearly one in 10 hospitalized children have a primary diagnosis of a mental health condition, and depression alone accounts for $1.33 billion in hospital charges annually, according to a new analysis led by UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.

19 Mar 2014

Residual depression has lasting impact on bipolar patients

A prospective study confirms the detrimental effect of subthreshold depressive symptoms on the outcomes of patients with bipolar disorder.

17 Mar 2014

Distinct motor activity patterns for bipolar depression and mania

Acutely ill patients with bipolar disorder show distinct differences in motor activity regulation during episodes of mania and depression, research indicates.

13 Mar 2014

Compensatory brain mechanisms at play in siblings of bipolar patients

Patients with bipolar disorder and their unaffected siblings have deficits in a part of the brain responsible for automatic regulation of emotions, report researchers.

11 Mar 2014

Researchers discover two new gene regions connected to bipolar disorder

First on top of the world and then in the depths of despair - this is what the extreme mood changes for people with bipolar disorder are like. Under the direction of scientists from Bonn, Mannheim and Basel, an international collaboration of researchers discovered two new gene regions that are connected to the prevalent disease. In addition, they were able to confirm three additional suspect genes.

11 Mar 2014

Innovative study uses pharmacogenomic test to treat patients with psychotic disorders

ValueOptions, Inc. a health improvement company specializing in mental and emotional well-being and recovery, and Genomind, a personalized medicine company, today announced an innovative study that uses pharmacogenomic testing to treat patients diagnosed with psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

11 Mar 2014

Parents with bipolar disorder feel control by monitoring kids' moods

The majority of parents with bipolar disorder monitor their children's moods, which helps them feel in control of their child's wellbeing, show US study results.

7 Mar 2014

Inflammation and stress combine in bipolar and schizophrenia subtypes

Researchers have found that some individuals with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia have combined stress response and immune dysfunctions.

6 Mar 2014

Diagnostic errors common among patients with bipolar disorder

Russian study data bolster the existing body of evidence showing that bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as depression.

5 Mar 2014

3.5 million estimated Medicaid signups under health law

Avalere Health projects that of the 8.9 million people "determined eligible" for Medicaid starting last Oct. 1, the number of new enrollees under the health law is likely much smaller -- between 2.4 million and 3.5 million. Other reports look at how health insurance could result in nearly half a million more Americans getting tested for HIV by 2017 -- but how 60,000 people with the virus will be left uninsured in states not expanding Medicaid.

5 Mar 2014