A research team from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine led by 2005 NARSAD Independent Investigator, Mary Phillips, M.D. used a novel technique to predict future mental illness in teens at risk for mental illness from...
Bipolar Disorder
Did you know more than 2 million American adults have bipolar disorder?
Recent Foundation-supported research to improve bipolar disorder diagnosis includes:
- Identifying genetic patterns that are specific to bipolar disorder and may increase susceptibility to developing the disease
- Studying patterns of brain circuitry and activity that can be used to diagnose bipolar disorder
- Identifying people at very high risk for bipolar disorder to identify and treat the disease early on
Mary Phillips, M.D.
April 03, 2012
TAGS: Brain Matters, Diagnostic Tools / Early Intervention, General Mental Illness, Discoveries, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety
Arturas Petronis, M.D., Ph.D.
March 14, 2012
Arturas Petronis, M.D., Ph.D. from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, led researchers in a study, discovering that biochemical (or ‘epigenetic’) changes can impact the ‘expression’ of genes common in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Focusing his work on the genomes of identical twins (who share the same exact sequences of DNA) where only one...
TAGS: 25 Years of Breakthroughs, Brain Matters, Diagnostic Tools / Early Intervention, Discoveries, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder
Carlos Zarate, M.D.
March 13, 2012
NARSAD Independent Investigator Grantees, Husseini Manji, M.D. and Carlos Zarate, M.D. discovered that a common breast cancer drug called tamoxifen can also be used to treat symptoms of bipolar disorder during the manic phase of the illness. Tamoxifen was proven to be effective because it blocks kinase protein C (KPC), an enzyme regulating brain cell activity. The major benefit...
TAGS: 25 Years of Breakthroughs, Brain Matters, Next Generation Therapies, Discoveries, Bipolar Disorder
Elliot S. Gershon, M.D.
February 09, 2012
In 1998, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Scientific Council Member and NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grantee, Elliot S. Gershon, M.D. and colleagues made a significant discovery identifying a linkage of genes that are risk factors for both bipolar disorder and...
TAGS: 25 Years of Breakthroughs, Basic Research, Brain Matters, Discoveries, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder
David A. Brent, M.D.
January 30, 2012
In 1988, NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grantee, David A. Brent, M.D. made significant discoveries leading to the identification of risk factors for youth suicide. Until his research in the late 1980s, the media portrayed suicidal teens as “talented”, “misunderstood” and it being “the parents’ fault”. Dr. Brent’s studies determined that the true warning signs for youths at...
TAGS: 25 Years of Breakthroughs, Brain Matters, Children & Adolescents, Diagnostic Tools / Early Intervention, Discoveries, Bipolar Disorder, Depression
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Q: What advice do you offer for comorbidity (diagnosed with more than one mental illness)?
A: Many people have more than one official diagnosis in mental health, such as depression and anxiety or anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, for example. Substance use disorders often co-exist...
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