Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Latest Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Study demonstrates how DISC1 variants affect brain development

Significant progress has been made in understanding the genetic risk factors underlying psychiatric disease. Recent studies have identified common genetic mutations conferring modest risk and rare variants comprising significant risk. One example of a rare cause of psychiatric disorders is the Disrupted in Schizophrenia-1 (DISC1) gene, first identified in a large Scottish pedigree displaying schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression.

18 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Paul Starr on Obama, Romney and health reform; Glenn close on the need for mental health services

As we testified on Nov. 1 before the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the principal driver of long-term federal deficits is the rapidly mounting cost of healthcare, particularly Medicare. ... Solving the U.S. debt crisis requires structural changes to slow Medicare's cost growth plus significant new revenue to accommodate the retirement of the baby boomers. Any plan without those two essential components should go back to the drawing board.

17 Nov 2011

New research identifies brain chemicals and circuits involved in mental illnesses

New research identifies the brain chemicals and circuits involved in mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, giving potential new directions to their treatment.

16 Nov 2011

Scientists find new tools to help understand neurodevelopmental disorders

Research released today shows that scientists are finding new tools to help understand neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and fragile X syndrome. These studies show in new detail how the brain's connections, chemicals, and genes interact to affect behavior.

15 Nov 2011

Chemical breakthrough could simplify drug development process

A new chemical process developed by a team of Harvard researchers greatly increases the utility of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in creating real-time 3-D images of chemical process occurring inside the human body.

5 Nov 2011

Affective symptoms can help diagnose early psychotic disorders

Functional psychosis can be diagnosed from the first indications of the patient, thanks to affective symptomatology. Depressive moods, hyperactivity and lack of concentration are affective symptoms that can present themselves during the first psychotic episodes, and the presence or absence of any of them may contribute to differentiating, at an early stage, between the different variations of the mental disease.

3 Nov 2011

New e-tool to catch youth depression before it takes hold

Australian researchers will for the first time harness e-technology to develop a customised internet program to identify and arm healthy young people most at risk of depression before the illness takes hold.

1 Nov 2011

Mayo Clinic issues toolkit to identify signs of youth mental health disorders

Mayo Clinic researchers -- in partnership with numerous national mental health advocacy organizations -- are issuing new simple-to-understand tools to help identify youth who may have mental health disorders.

29 Oct 2011

FDA approves intraspinal injections in spinal cord stem cell ALS trial

Neuralstem, Inc. updated the progress of its ongoing Phase I safety trial of the company's spinal cord stem cells in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

24 Oct 2011

Mayo Clinic researchers share latest findings at child and adolescent psychiatry meeting

Mayo Clinic researchers are sharing their latest research findings this week at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Meeting in Toronto.

22 Oct 2011

Research points to ineffective and incomplete drug education as factor in heroin initiation

Researchers found Chicago area suburban heroin users have little knowledge about the drug and its effects when they first use it, and they often substitute heroin after becoming addicted to prescription pain medications.

19 Oct 2011

FDA approves NDA for Edgemont's Fluoxetine 60 mg tablet

Edgemont Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a neuroscience focused company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its New Drug Application (NDA) for Fluoxetine Tablets 60 mg.

12 Oct 2011

BDNF methionine variation increases risk of suicidal behaviour

A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has found evidence that a specific gene is linked to suicidal behaviour, adding to our knowledge of the many complex causes of suicide. This research may help doctors one day target the gene in prevention efforts.

10 Oct 2011

BDNF met variation gene linked to suicidal behaviour

7 Oct 2011

New $13.75M data-mining project to better understand factors behind mental disorders

Chicago will be home to a new $13.75 million project that will apply data mining methods to better understand the genetic and environmental factors behind neuropsychiatric disorders.

7 Oct 2011

Jails are holding increasing numbers of mentally ill

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that in Georgia more mentally ill people are locked away than are treated in state psychiatric hospitals. In other state news about mental health, Florida seeks to recoup $4 million from company that managed Medicaid mental health services, and Milwaukee considers bolstering services.

30 Sep 2011

AstraZeneca settles SEROQUEL XR patent infringement litigation

AstraZeneca today announced it has entered into a settlement agreement in its U.S. SEROQUEL XR patent infringement litigation against Handa Pharmaceuticals, LLC regarding Handa's proposed generic version of AstraZeneca's SEROQUEL XR extended-release tablets.

30 Sep 2011

New report finds little evidence to support off-label use of atypical antipsychotics

There is little evidence to support the use of atypical antipsychotic drugs for some treatments other than their officially approved purposes, even though many clinicians continue to commonly prescribe these drugs for so-called "off label" uses, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

29 Sep 2011

Experts to explore implications of mental disorders at 12th EMBL | EMBO conference

You are invited to attend the 12th joint EMBL | EMBO Science and Society Conference - Making sense of mental illness: biology, medicine and society. The conference takes place 4-5 November 2011 at the EMBL Advanced Training Centre, Heidelberg, Germany. Press registration is free.

28 Sep 2011

Benefits and harms vary among atypical antipsychotics for off-label use

A review of previous studies suggests that even though atypical antipsychotic medications are commonly used for off-label conditions such as behavioral symptoms of dementia, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, these medications are effective for only a few off-label conditions, and that the benefits and harms of these medications for these uses vary, according to an article in the September 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Sep 2011