Health Conditions

What is on the horizon?

Researchers are currently trying to find the best drug therapy for the different types of bipolar disorder and the symptoms associated with bipolar disorder. Trials are underway to compare different types of conventional therapy to see if any one drug is superior.

Some researchers are beginning to look at the effects of another drug class, anti-depressants in the treatment of bipolar disorder with major depression. Often anti-depressants are not considered for treatment in individuals with bipolar disorder because of the risk of increased episodes of mania. One trial is underway to compare the effectiveness of a certain type of anti-depressant, a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, or SSRI, with standard mood stabilizer therapy in individuals with major depressive episodes. The results of this trial could lead to more tailored therapy for individuals with this type of bipolar disorder.

The STEP-BD is a large, federally-funded treatment study designed to find out which treatments, or combinations of treatments, are most effective for treating episodes of depression and mania and for preventing recurrent episodes in people with bipolar disorder. STEP-BD is a long-term outpatient study that enrolled more than 4,000 patients from 1998 to 2005. It is a broad research program that includes several different studies, each aimed at a different aspect of treatment for bipolar disorder. In addition to determining effectiveness of treatments, STEP-BD researchers will also evaluate the cost-effectiveness of treatments and how treatments affect a person's quality of life. DNA collected from patients in the study will be used by researchers to examine how genes may affect bipolar disorder. Many different findings will be published as researchers analyze the data obtained from this group of studies. Researchers are using the extensive data from STEP-BD to help determine the best treatments for individuals with various features of the disorder (for example, bipolar I vs. bipolar II, manic, depressive, or mixed episodes, or rapid cycling) and prevent recurrence.

One preliminary evaluation of some of the results of this study looked at the effects of different types of psychosocial therapy in conjunction with medication therapy. These results suggest that intensive psychosocial therapy in conjunction with medication therapy yield better results in the stabilization of mood than less intensive therapy in conjunction with medication therapy.

While many questions have been answered concerning the causes and treatment for bipolar disorder, there is still much more to discover about this disease and what the best treatment is.