Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Latest Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Sleep patterns can identify adolescents at greatest risk for depression

Sleep patterns can help predict which adolescents might be at greatest risk for developing depression, a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center has found in a five-year study.

13 Aug 2009

Landmark legislation brings much-needed reform to New Jersey

New Jersey significantly reformed its mental illness treatment law on August 11th when Governor Corzine signed Senate Bill 735 into law. Senator Richard Codey and countless advocates battled for years to give New Jersey a way to better help those who refuse treatment because of incapacitating symptoms of illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. “Our goal is to minimize time in the hospital and keep patients in the least restrictive environment that will help foster their recovery,” said Codey.

11 Aug 2009

Mental health care costs soar

A new report finds mental health care costs are exploding, according to U.S. News & World Report.

7 Aug 2009

Using anti-epileptic drug sodium valproate when pregnant can lower IQ of offspring

Interim results of a study being conducted by scientists at the University of Liverpool suggest that children aged three years and younger, who are born to women taking the anti-epileptic drug sodium valproate whilst pregnant, are likely to have an IQ of six to nine points lower than average.

21 Jul 2009

Cognitive behavioural therapy for major psychiatric disorder: does it really work?

Research co-led by an academic at the University of Hertfordshire, concludes that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is of no value in schizophrenia and has limited effect on depression.

28 Jun 2009

Skin cells provide new knowledge about brain functions

Until now diseases like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have been difficult to study biologically, since this would entail taking samples from the patient's brain.

3 Jun 2009

Schering-Plough announces European filing of Sycrest (asenapine) for schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder

Schering-Plough Corporation has announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has validated (accepted for review) the company's Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Sycrest (asenapine) sublingual tablets for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic episodes associated with bipolar I disorder. The application will follow the Centralized Procedure.

2 Jun 2009

Discovery of proteins underlying devastating brain diseases

Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered a set of brain proteins responsible for some of the most common and devastating brain diseases.

19 May 2009

Cognition already seriously impaired in first episode of schizophrenia

Significant and widespread cognitive problems appear to exist in schizophrenia in its earliest phase, making it very hard for people with the disorder to work, study or be social, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.

13 May 2009

Inherited impulsivity predicts alcoholism

Solving the age-old chicken and the egg dilemma, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis researchers report that genetic predisposition to impulsivity is a trait predictive of alcoholism. The study appears on the July print issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, available online on April 22.

23 Apr 2009

Genetic predisposition to impulsivity is a trait predictive of alcoholism

Solving the age-old chicken and the egg dilemma, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis researchers report that genetic predisposition to impulsivity is a trait predictive of alcoholism.

22 Apr 2009

Genes influence impulsivity, which may then contribute to risk for developing alcoholism

Numerous studies have shown that highly impulsive behavior - defined as the tendency to choose small, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards - is more prevalent in drug addicts and alcoholics compared to individuals without addictions.

22 Apr 2009

Scientists suggest a mechanism for how lithium works in bipolar treatment

Lithium has been established for more than 50 years as one of the most effective treatments for bipolar mood disorder.

22 Apr 2009

Valproate exposure during pregnancy can impair a child's cognitive development

Three-year-olds whose mothers took the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy had average IQs six to nine points lower than children exposed to three other antiepileptic drugs, a landmark multi-center study has found.

15 Apr 2009

Seroquel XR supplemental NDA recommended for approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (PDAC) conducted a review of the safety and efficacy of supplemental new drug applications (sNDA) for Seroquel XR (quetiapine fumarate) extended-release tablets proposed for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

9 Apr 2009

Most psychiatrists who wrote clinical guidelines had financial ties to drug companies, study shows

Most of the psychiatrists on the American Psychiatric Association panels who wrote the newest clinical guidelines for how to treat depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had financial ties to drug companies, according to a study by Boston researchers scheduled to be published this month in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, the Boston Globe reports.

5 Apr 2009

District Court decision received in Concerta patent sase

The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has rendered a decision in the patent litigation between Alza Corporation, McNeil-PPC, Inc. and Andrx Pharmaceuticals LLC. McNeil Pediatrics, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which markets Concerta (methylphenidate HCI) Extended-Release Tablets CII, said the court held that the patent in suit is not valid or infringed by the filing of Andrx's Abbreviated New Drug Application.

1 Apr 2009