PinterestCan Electrical Brain Stimulation Treat Bipolar Disorder?
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- Parent Category: Bipolar Disorder
- Category: Treatment
- Published on Wednesday, 25 April 2012 15:55
- Written by Magpie Media
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Researchers are looking at Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) as a potential form of treatment for bipolar disorder patients.
tDCS is a common treatment for depression patients who do not respond to other therapies, and researchers are looking to see if these same mild electrical currents can also help those suffering from bipolar disorder.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Black Dog Institute conducted the largest randomized controlled trial for tDCS and
Body Clocks May Hold Key For Bipolar Disorder Treatment
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- Parent Category: Bipolar Disorder
- Category: Treatment
- Published on Thursday, 22 March 2012 15:53
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Researchers may have discovered why lithium salts are effective in treating bipolar disorder, which may allow them to develop more specific therapies that could have fewer side effects.
Lithium salts have been the primary source of treatment for bipolar disorder for the last 60 years; however, there has been little research done to investigate how lithium affects the brain and peripheral body clockwork.
“Our study has shown a new and potent effect of lithium in increasing the amplitude, or strength, of the clock rhythms, revealing a novel link between the classic mood-stabilizer, bipolar disorder and body clocks,” said lead researcher Qing-Jun Meng, MD, PhD, of the Faculty Life Sciences at the University of Manchester. “By tracking the dynamics of a key clock protein, we discovered that lithium increased the strength of the clockwork in cells up to three-fold by blocking the actions of an enzyme called glycogen synthase kinase or GSK3.”
Findings are significant because they explain how lithium is able to stabilize moods in bipolar disorder patients. It will also allow researchers to develop new treatments that mimic the effects of lithium medications, but without the side effects.
“Lithium salt has a wide spectrum of targets within cells, in addition to GSK3; drugs which only block the actions of GSK3 would therefore have the major advantage of reduced ‘off-target’ effects of lithium,” Meng said. “Our study has identified the robust rhythm-enhancing effect of GSK3 inhibition, which has potential to be developed as a new pharmacological approach to regulate body clocks. The implications of our study are that there may also be beneficial effects leading to new treatments for bipolar disorder and this now needs to be tested.”
Source—Medical Xpress
Treatment Dropout Rates High In People With Bipolar Disorder
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- Parent Category: Bipolar Disorder
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- Published on Thursday, 22 March 2012 15:50
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Results from a new study show that approximately one-third of bipolar disorder patients go against the advice of their doctors and stop taking medication within a year of starting treatment.
Kyooseob Ha, MD, and his team from the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Seongnam, Republic of Korea, said that compared to studies on schizophrenia and depression drop-out rates and contributing factors, there has been little research on the same topics for bipolar disorder patients.
