Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Latest Bipolar Disorder News and Research

Eating disorders should be recognized as serious mental illnesses

In the U.S. and abroad, the failure of insurers and other gatekeepers to treatment to consistently recognize eating disorders as serious mental illnesses has resulted in an ongoing heath care crisis for sufferers and their families.

29 Mar 2009

Add-on treatment may reduce treatment-associated weight gain caused by antipsychotic treatments

Antipsychotic drugs, such as olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal) and quetiapine (Seroquel), are commonly used to treat psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, but also bipolar disorder and even behavioral problems related to dementia.

29 Mar 2009

FDA approves Symbyax for treatment-resistant depression

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new indication for Symbyax (olanzapine and fluoxetine HCl capsules), Eli Lilly and Company has announced.

23 Mar 2009

Schizophrenia gene found to control the birth of new neurons

A gene that is arguably the most studied "schizophrenia gene" plays an unanticipated role in the brain: It controls the birth of new neurons in addition to their integration into existing brain circuitry, according to a report in the March 20th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.

20 Mar 2009

Blocked enzyme reverses schizophrenia-like symptoms

Researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have found that inhibiting a key brain enzyme in mice reversed schizophrenia-like symptoms.

20 Mar 2009

Shire withdraws European application for Daytrana (Methylphenidate Transdermal System)

Shire plc has announced that it has decided to withdraw the European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Daytrana (methylphenidate transdermal system) for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

16 Mar 2009

Off-label drug uses wasting millions, raising health risks

A recent study in Oregon suggests that drugs designed for treating the most severe mental illnesses are often prescribed at inappropriately low doses and at considerable expense, for use in conditions where their benefit has not been established.

4 Mar 2009

Chantix side effects no worse for people with history of depression

People with a likely history of depression who take varenicline (Chantix) do not report more severe mood symptoms, medication side effects, or less success quitting smoking compared to people with no history of depression taking this drug.

2 Mar 2009

Psychosocial and biological markers of daily lives of midlife parents of children with disabilities

Raising a child with a disability can cause more daily stress and long-range health problems than parenting a child without disabilities, according to a new study that looked at a clinical measure of stress along with parents' survey responses.

18 Feb 2009

New treatment approach needed for management of depression with bipolar disorder

In a study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, a team of researchers led by Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Mark Frye, M.D., attempted to identify what factors make some people with bipolar depression more likely to experience treatment-emergent mania (TEM).

15 Feb 2009

Cytokines lead to neurological and cognitive abnormalities and changes in heart rhythm in patients with cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, taking 25,000 lives per year.

10 Feb 2009

Mentally ill endure lives of loneliness and exclusion

New research from the Australian mental illness charity SANE has revealed that victims of mental illness pay a high price in terms of personal relationships and social contact.

9 Feb 2009

Mental illness by itself does not predict future violent behavior

People with mental illness alone are no more likely than anyone else to commit acts of violence, a new study by UNC researchers concludes.

2 Feb 2009

Study looks at mental illness and violent behavior

Violence appears to be more common among those with mental illness only when they also report substance abuse or dependence, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

2 Feb 2009

Bipolar disorders linked to increased risk of early death from medical illness

Bipolar disorders appear to increase the risk of early death from a medical illness, according to a literature review study published as the lead article this week in the journal Psychiatric Services.

2 Feb 2009

Migraines linked to mental disorders

Migraine headaches can precede the onset of mental disorders, according to a growing body of knowledge that includes a new study in the January-February 2009 issue of General Hospital Psychiatry.

21 Jan 2009

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have same genetic causes

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have for decades been regarded as two distinct psychotic disorders when it comes to definitions and risk factors.

21 Jan 2009

Epigenetics may account for some inherited traits and diseases

Embargoed Until January 18, 2009 at 18:00 Greenwich Mean Time / 13:00 Eastern Standard Time (TORONTO): Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have detected evidence that DNA may not be the only carrier of heritable information; a secondary molecular mechanism called epigenetics may also account for some inherited traits and diseases.

19 Jan 2009

Lack of grey matter linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

A research study led by scientists from the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital in Madrid and the Network of Centres for Biomedical Research in Mental Health Networks (CIBERSAM) shows that adolescents experiencing a first outbreak of psychosis have lower levels of grey matter in their brains than healthy teenagers. Strangely, this change was seen in patients suffering from various psychoses, including bipolar illness and schizophrenia.

19 Jan 2009

FDA issues complete response letter for SAPHRIS (asenapine) sublingual tablets in acute treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Schering-Plough Corporation has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter for SAPHRIS (asenapine) sublingual tablets in the acute treatment of schizophrenia in adults and in the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults as monotherapy.

15 Jan 2009