Bipolar News

The diagnosis of bipolar has risen fortyfold in children and adolescents

2007-09-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

The diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents has risen fortyfold since 1994, according to a study released Monday. But researchers partly attributed the dramatic rise to doctors over-diagnosing the serious psychiatric disorder.

The report in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry said bipolar disorder was found in 1,003 of every 100,000 office visits from children and adolescents in 2002-03, compared with 25 of 100,000 office visits in 1994-95.

The diagnosis of bipolar disorder among adults increased twofold during the same period, researchers said.

The study didn't investigate the reasons for the sudden rise in bipolar cases among children and adolescents. A book published in 2000, "The Bipolar Child," made the controversial assertion that one-third to one-half of children with depression had bipolar disorder.

Effective talk therapy not available enough for bipolar patients

2007-09-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Psychological therapy can greatly boost the effectiveness of drugs in treating bipolar disorder, but these specialized talk therapies aren't as widely available as they should be, experts say.

Second Centreville meeting to start Sept. 17

2007-09-03T07:13:00.001-07:00

A second weekly meeting at Centreville United Methodist Church for those who have bipolar will begin meeting on Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 218. The meeting, known as Centreville Bipolar Support Group I, will be held each Monday and is designed to be smaller gathering and to help with overcrowding in the Tuesday night meetings, which will continue to be held each Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the same room.

The Monday night meetings will be a trial for the next three months, and at that time it will be determined whether they will be continued into the future. A facilitator, or facilitators, have not been announced for the Monday meeting yet. If you are interested, write Jayson Blair at jayson@jayson-blair.com.

Woodbridge group now focuses on bipolar and depression; begins meeting each week

2007-09-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

The Woodbridge group has changed its name to the Woodbridge Support Group and will begin accepting participants who suffer from depression as well as those with bipolar.
The support group, which has grown rapidly since beginning in July, also will begin meeting each week starting Sept. 5.

The group is expanding its mission beyond those with bipolar due to the lack of support groups for those with depression in southern and eastern Prince William County.
Members of the group overwhelmingly have said that they would like to see the group meet more often than the every other week schedule the group was on before Sept. 5.

If you have any questions about the Woodbridge Support Group, feel free to contact Mike at woodbridge@dbsanova.org.

Intensive psychosocial rehab helps depressed bipolar patients

2007-09-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

Psychosocial interventions are effective adjuncts to pharmacotherapy in delaying recurrences of bipolar disorder; however, to date their effects on life functioning have been given little attention. In a randomized trial, the authors examined the impact of intensive psychosocial treatment plus pharmacotherapy on the functional outcomes of patients with bipolar disorder over the 9 months following a depressive episode, according to an article in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Researhers say preventive steps can halve the number of manic episodes

2007-08-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

Australian researchers have developed a treatment that halves the number of manic episodes experienced by people with bipolar disorder.

The team from the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria says it is the first study that conclusively proves patients can control their mania.

"This is the first time that we are aware of in the world that we've been actually able to reduce manic episodes," said lead researcher David Castle. "We are very excited about the program's success."

Half of the 84 trial participants were given medication alone. The second group took medication but also underwent weekly therapy sessions that taught them how to recognise the early symptoms of a manic or depressive episode, and steps to prevent the event.

FDA approves Risperdal's use in children

2007-08-23T10:31:00.001-07:00

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a widely used adult psychiatric drug for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.

The action permits use of Risperdal for schizophrenia in youths aged 13 to 17 and for bipolar disorder in those aged 10 to 17, FDA said.

Omega-3s shown in study to help with depression

2007-08-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

Many of us have heard about the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in our diet. Now there's research that shows omega-3s have anti-depressant effects in the body. That's the latest test results from a study in Tawan.
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Doctors discovered global areas that have a large consumption of omega-3s show a lower prevalence of depression.

Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fish and fish oil, as well as flax seed oil.

Researchers caution not to only use omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder.

The study appears in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Some say rise in diagnosis of bipolar in children driven by drug company desires to raise sales

2007-08-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

Now the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children is rising, Dr John Abramson, author of, "Overdosed America," says, and clearly it is the drug industry driving this medicalization to sell more products.

Army suicides at highest point in 26 years; 20 percent had mood disorders

2007-08-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new military report says.

The 99 suicides in 2006, which included 28 soldiers deployed to the two wars, amounted to a rate of 17.3 per 100,000, the report said. The average rate over the last 26 years has been 12.3 per 100,000.

Preliminary numbers for the first half of this year indicate the number of suicides could decline Army-wide but increase among troops serving in the wars, officials said.

Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were factors motivating the soldiers to commit suicide, the report shows.

About a quarter of those who killed themselves had a history of at least one psychiatric disorder. Of those, about 20% had been diagnosed with a mood disorder such as bipolar disorder or depression; and 8% had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, including post traumatic stress disorder.

Firearms were the most common method of suicide.

New study looks at risks of antypical antipsycotics in pregnancy

2007-08-12T17:03:00.001-07:00

It has long been known that certain bipolar drugs, such as Depakote and Lithium, were dangerous during certain stages of pregnancy. Now, new research is suggesting that atypical antipsychotic used to prevent post-partum mania may put babies at risk.

The study reviewed women who had taken an antypical antipsychotic or haloperidol during pregnancy. Maternal and umbilical cord plasma samples were collected and delivery and were analyzed for medication concentrations.
All foru antipsychotics demonstrated incomplete placental passage. The data suggested fetal exposure and wide variety of outcomes depending on the medications.

Sleeping disorder pill examined for use to combat bipolar depression

2007-08-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

A preliminary study of 85 patients with bipolar disorder shows that a drug used to treat patients with sleep disorders, according to an article in Science Daily, might also control the depressive symptoms associated with bipolar disorder.

At least 44 percent of the participants in the study reported improved symptoms, a noteworthy improvement for a disorder in which new treatments are needed, according to the study's author, Mark Frye, M.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Mood Disorders Clinic and Research Program.

The study appears in the August 2007 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

"There are very few treatments for the depressive phase of bipolar disorder and as a result there is an urgent need to evaluate potential new therapeutics," says Dr. Frye. "Mood stabilizers in general are better at treating mania than depression, but the depressive phase of the illness is far more common. We really need continued research in this area."

Links to other articles: Associated Content; DG News

Wake-up pill under study to treat patients with bipolar depression

2007-08-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

A preliminary study of 85 patients with bipolar disorder shows that a drug used to treat patients with sleep disorders might also control the depressive symptoms associated with bipolar disorder. At least 44 percent of the participants in the study reported improved symptoms, a noteworthy improvement for a disorder in which new treatments are needed, according to the study's author, Mark Frye, M.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Mood Disorders Clinic and Research Program.

"Dark therapy" proposed as a treatment for bipolar disorder

2007-08-02T14:38:00.001-07:00

Bipolar disorder often affects the sleeping and waking cycle-and can also be exacerbated by a lack of sleep-recent research into ‘dark therapy’ as a form of treatment for bipolar disorder has provided another possibility, according to an article in the Insight Journal.

Light therapy has been used for years to treat seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that occurs in winter when there is less available sunlight. Dark therapy works much the same way, but it focuses on exposing the patient to darkness instead of bright light. More specifically, dark therapy blocks out the blue spectrum lights—florescent, incandescent and LED.

Widow of bipolar judge publishes memoir about life before and after his suicide

2007-08-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

Author Sel Erder Yackley is on a tour for her book, "Never Regret the Pain -- Loving and Losing a Bipolar Spouse."

Yackley was the wife of former La Salle County Circuit Judge Frank X. Yackley, who shot himself at a local firing range in 1986. In 2006, Yackley, now living in Chicago, published a memoir of her life before and after her husband's suicide. She discusses in detail the low points -- and high points -- of living with a man who struggled with bipolar disorder.

Lizzie Simon addresses developing a balanced relatioship with your psychiatrict and other health professionals

2007-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Lizzie Simon, the artist, speaker and author of My Bipolar Trip Through 3D writes a column in the latest issue of bp Magazine (which is not available online) about how patients can create more respectful and more balanced relationships -- partnerships -- with their psychiatrists that will better their health.

A link to bp and its subscription form is here.

Blood test said to classify bipolar patients

2007-08-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

Curdium Medica, the drug development company specializing in "personalised medicine", tapped investors for more cash yesterday to develop its treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder that would allow doctors to classify bipolar patients based on the subgroups of the disorder from which they suffer.

This follows the company's discovery of a blood diagnostic test, named PsychINDx, which classifies patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder into four subgroups. Until now, schizophrenia was considered as one disease and treated as such, not always effectively. But the company hopes to develop drugs that will target the patient depending on which subgroup of the disease they suffer, from instead of the "one-size fits all" treatment currently available.

A review of Bipolar Depression: A Comprehensive Guide

2007-08-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

A review of this paperback book devoted to bipolar depression addresses the long-term course of bipolar illness is often complicated by periods of increasingly treatment-refractory depression. Clinicians are often faced with the dilemma of initial-onset depression—determining whether the depression is a part of bipolar or unipolar illness—and worry about antidepressant-induced mania

A call for a holistic approach to bipolar treatment

2007-08-01T08:35:00.001-07:00

Treatment of mood disturbance in bipolar disorder is undergoing a paradigm shift, according to a paper on Pharmaweb.com Traditionally, drug therapy has been focussed on efficacy in acute mania or depression. Now psychiatrists are realizing the need to evaluate drug treatments from other perspectives, Their full effects as acute and mood-stabilising agents, side effect profiles, effects on neurocognitive functioning, quality of life, and on psychosocial functioning, are also important when considering therapy.

Paper examines the danagers of antidepressant treatment

2007-08-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

An Abkhazie Institute for Social and Economic Reform paper examines the risk factors connected to the use of antidepressants, taking time to focus on the question of whether antidepressants should be prescribed to bipolar patients because of their risk of inducing mania.

News org questions skyrocketing prescriptions of antipsychotics to children

2007-08-01T08:17:00.001-07:00

The St. Petersburg Times examines how more parents, who are at wit's end, are begging doctors to help them calm their aggressive children or control their kids with ADHD. Doctors are increasingly prescribing powerful antipsychotic drugs, which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

In the past seven years, the number of Florida children prescribed such drugs has increased some 250 percent. Last year, more than 18,000 state kids on Medicaid were given prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs. Even children as young as 3 years old. Last year, 1,100 Medicaid children under 6 were prescribed antipsychotics, a practice so risky that state regulators say it should be used only in extreme cases.

DBSA-Northern Virginia executive director offers an alternative to mental health legislation pending in the Commonwealth

2007-08-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Jayson Blair, the executive director of DBSA-Northern Virginia, offers support -- through groups and other means -- as the ultimate answer to addressing the mental health crisis in Virginia at a time when the General Assembly is attempting to pass legislation to address two violent events involving mentally ill people from Centreville. Blair does so in an op-ed in Times Community Newspapers, which publish more than a dozen local newspapers in Fairfax and Loudoun counties.

"It is clear that Commonwealth of Virginia's legislature will act soon to reform the state's mental health laws, most probably attempting to make it easier to involuntarily commit those with mental illnesses," he writes. "One thing that is also clear is that we are not headed back to the days of institutionalization, where thousands of people, many of whom did not belong, were warehoused in state hospitals often for years. No matter what changes are made to the laws that would have made it easier to hospitalized the Chos and Kennedys of the world, there will be a point where they will make a reentry into the community and there has to be something for them ..."

Marja Bergen tackles creativity and mood disorders

2007-08-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

Marja Bergen tackles creativity and mood disorders in an article in CanadianChristiany "Creativity is especially important for those who struggle with emotional health<" she writes. "This may be why so many people with mental health issues become artists it helps them survive. As a creative person living with bipolar disorder, I've always been interested in the mysterious connection between this disease and creativity."

Bergen, the author of Riding the Roller Coaster: Living with Mood Disorders (Northstone, 1999) has written a new book, yet to be published is addresses Christians living successfully with bipolar disorder. She is the founder and a facilitator of Living Room, the faith-based Mood Disorders Association of BC support group.

U-Cincinnati gets big federal grant to research slowing the progression of bipolar disorder

2007-08-01T07:43:00.001-07:00

University of Cincinnati researchers received a $9 million federal grant to personalize treatments for bipolar disorder and finding ways to keep the disease from progressing, according to an article in The (Cincinnati) Enquirer.

The National Institute of Mental Health money will pay for setting up the Bipolar Disorder Imaging and Treatment Research Center at UC’s College of Medicine.

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that affects about 6 million Americans. It is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Symptoms include dramatic shifts in mood, energy levels and ability to function.

Bipolar inmate's widow sues Portsmouth Jail

2007-07-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

The widow of a bipolar inmate who was found dead in his cell at Portsmouth City Jail last year filed a lawsuit against the sheriff and jail's medical contractor today, according to the Virginian Pilot.

Granada Combs is seeking $31 million in damages in connection with the death of her husband, Joseph B. Combs. He was found dead on June 28, 2006 covered in his own feces, the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit, filed in Portsmouth Circuit Court, claims negligence and civil rights violations.

A medical examiner determined in June that the former Norfolk Naval Shipyard worker died of severe dehydration and pneumonia. The examiner also determined that a bipolar disorder contributed to Combs' death.

Boston columnist considers stage redentions of mental illness out of context

2007-07-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

Insanity is an irresistible metaphor except for those who've seen it close up. Our culture is filled with tales of madmen who are saner than the society that imprisons them, complete breakdowns that turn out to be creative breakthroughs, inner chaos that's more lovely and liberating than order could ever be, according to Louise Kennedy in The Boston Globe.

Those of us who have endured the disability of a beloved relative know better, she writes. Continuing, she says that we know that while people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder or severe depression may have flashes of creative genius and almost spooky moments of intellectual and emotional insight, the facts of their illness are scary, repetitive, and debilitating. In the long run, it doesn't lift you up to be crazy; it wears you down. And so, try as we might to surrender to the power of psychosis as a symbol, we just can't stop noticing the difference between reality and fantasy.

Mentally ill struggle with lesser insurance; Mental health parity being debated in Congress

2007-07-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

Mental illness threw David Harkins' life into reverse.

At 19, he was managing the basketball team at Florida College, where he received his associate degree in 1971. He got married, had children, became a computer support specialist and bought a home.

"Now I'm back to washing towels for a living," said Harkins, of Tampa, who is 55 and living in a private dormitory with a college student. "I make less than $9 an hour."

Harkins is bipolar, relying on prescription drugs to control his severe mood swings.

But because Florida is one of a handful of states that allow health insurers to cover mental illnesses at lower levels than they cover physical disorders, patients like Harkins must do what they can to maintain their psychiatric treatments and drug regimens, according to article in The Tampa Bay Tribune.

Untreated bipolar disorder may shrink the brain

2007-07-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

Researchers discover people with bipolar disorder — or manic depression — suffer from an accelerated shrinking of their brain, according to an article on Psychcentral.com.

The study shows for the first time that bipolar disorder — a condition characterized by periods of depression and periods of mania — is associated with a reduction in brain tissue and proves that the changes get progressively worse with each relapse.

This discovery has implications not only for the way we research the disease, but may also impact the way this condition is treated.
The University of Edinburgh study is published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry.

Free depression and bipolar mental health screening

2007-07-25T05:31:00.000-07:00

DBSA-Northern Virginia and Ashburn Psychological Services are offering free mental health screenings for depression and bipolar disorder on August 25 and September 1 as a part of both groups’ community service efforts. The screenings will be held at the offices of Ashburn Psychological Services, which are located at 44110 Ashburn Shopping Plaza, which is just off Ashburn Village Boulevard. More information can be found at www.dbsanova.org/events.html.

These mental health screenings provide a safe and confidential way to determine the likelihood of whether you suffer from depression and bipolar disorder, and information on how to get help through mental health care providers, support groups, government agencies and others.

The first screening will be on Saturday, August 25, from 11 AM to 5 PM, and it will be for children and adolescents. Parents and children do not need to register in advance. All they need to do is show up at the Ashburn Psychological Services offices in the Ashburn Shopping Plaza. The second screening will be for adults, adolescents and children of all ages on Saturday, September 22, from 11 AM to 5 PM.

These screenings allow for diagnosis and intervention. Mental health problems can become worse, even devastating, if left untreated.

* * *

Ashburn Psychological Services (www.ashburnpsych.org) is a leading psychological practice that offers a wide array of diagnostic, psychotherapy and consultation services for children, adolescents, adults and families.

Mallinger discusses treatment resistance and reversing brain damage caused by mania and depression

2007-07-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

A recap of a talk entitled "Pathophysiology of Affective Disorders and Potential New Treatments to Treatment Resistant Mood Disorders" by Alan G. Mallinger, MD, at July 19 at George Washington University Hospital can be found on the DBSA-Northern Virginia news page.

Dr. Mallinger, a researcher at NIMH, discusses treatment resistance in bipolar disorder and depression, and medications that can help reverse brain tissue damage caused by mania and depression.

Patients, theraptists and family members report stigma continues

2007-07-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Patients, therapists and family members report a negative stigma attached to mental health issues as a big barrier for many to overcome before talking to someone about their problems, according to a report in The Faquirer Times-Democrat.

There's good news, however, because a new study from Mental Health America shows significant progress in Americans' attitudes regarding mental health issues over the past 10 years.

According to the survey released last month, nearly three-fourths of the population knows that depression is a real health problem ― as opposed to 10 years ago, when 38 percent of the population viewed the condition thusly, as opposed to it being simply a sign of personal weakness.

Judge frees bipolar prisoner targeted by inmates

2007-07-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

A judge has freed a bipolar prisoner from custody after the man complained that he was being abused by other inmates, according to the Associated Press.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Michael E. Loney ruled that the man, who is bipolar and developmentally disabled, could live with a friend until a suitable treatment program can be found for him.

Mallinger to discuss treatment resistant mood disorders

2007-07-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

Dr. Alan G. Mallinger, M.D. will be speaking this Thursday -- July 19 -- at the Auditorium at George Washington University Hospital at 900 Twenty-Third St, Washington, DC. at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Mallinger will be speaking about Pathophysiology of Affective Disorders and Potential New Treatments for Treatment Resistant Mood Disorders. The event is sponsored by DBSA-National Capital Area.

Dr. Mallinger is the unit chief of the Adult Outpatient Clinic's Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the National Institute of Mental Health. He was a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the director of the Psychopharmacology of Mania and Depression Program at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

During his career, Dr. Mallinger has pursued parallel interests in clinical psychiatry and basic psychopharmacology research related to mood disorders. His areas of basic research interest include laboratory studies on cell membrane phenomena and intracellular signal transduction processes, specifically, as these relate to the biological aspects of bipolar disorder and to the therapeutic mechanisms of mood stabilizing drugs.

His clinical research interests include therapeutic options for treatment-resistant mania, mood stabilizer treatment during pregnancy, and pharmacokinetic studies of MAO inhibitors. He has been involved in various clinical trials on antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and psychotherapy. Dr. Mallinger has authored or co-authored 56 scientific articles and book chapters. He is currently Director of the Psychopharmacology of Mania and Depression basic research program at WPIC, as well as medical director of the Maintenance Therapies in Bipolar Disorder study, and the Stanley Center for the Innovative Treatment of Bipolar Disorder. He also served as chairperson of the Merit Review Committee for Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C..

He is course director of the Pharmacotherapy Training in Mood Disorders Clinic and the Mood Disorders Seminar for psychiatry residents at the University of Pittsburgh.

Bipolar and eating disorders

2007-07-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

Susan McElroy, M.D., a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, looks at data from studies about the relationship between obesity and bipolar disorder.

The National Comorbidity Replication Study clearly highlights the prevalence of eating disorders in those with bipolar disorder. Another report indicated that Bipolar disorder had the highest odds ratio of all psychiatric disorders studied in patients with obesity. It is also noted that a great deal more investigation is needed.

This article, Bipolar Disorder and Its Comorbidities, is available through Medscape (subscription required).

Depression may weaken the brain

2007-07-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

In findings that highlight the importance of mood and stress to maintaining a healthy brain, researchers say that a bout of depression may raise the risks of developing dementia later in life, The Wall Street Journal reports.

People who have experienced a major depression even once in the previous 10 years in late middle age are twice as likely as those who haven't to develop problems in concentration, memory or problem-solving ability after the age of 65, according to several studies.

Recap of Fred Jacobsen's talk to DBSA-National Capital Area

2007-06-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Frederick M. Jacobsen, a professor of psychiatry and practicing scientist, gave a talk on the state of research into bipolar disorder and depression.

A recap of Dr. Fred Jacobsen's talk can be found here.

Hunt for bipolar depression gene

2007-06-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Scientists are hunting for the specific genes that make millions of people vulnerable to the highs associated with the mania and the lows associated with the depressions of bipolar disorder. On July 13, the University of Michigan Depression Center will offer the public an update on that gene hunt, with the first-ever Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Fund Lecture.

The lecture will be given by a noted researcher from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who is working closely with U-M scientists to find genes related to bipolar disorder.

Long-term psychotherapy more effective that other treatments of bipolar depression

2007-06-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

Psychotherapy for as long as nine months is significantly more effective than short-term treatment for alleviating depression associated with bipolar disease, new research suggests. The drugs used to treat depression are of limited use in treating the repeating depressive episodes of bipolar illness, according to background information in the article, published last week in The Archives of General Psychiatry.

“This is a monumental study,” said Myrna M. Weissman, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia who was not involved in the work. “There are no pharmaceutical companies willing to pay for research in psychotherapy, so we don’t have many clinical trials.” But, she added: “Psychosocial treatment for bipolar illness is not an alternative to medication. It’s a supplement. The authors, one of whom has received grant support and consulting fees from several pharmaceutical companies, found that the median time to recovery for the patients in long-term therapy was 169 days, compared with 279 days for those who received the brief treatment.

The cost of long-term therapy is high, and insurance companies are reluctant to cover it. But according to Dr. Weissman, the cost of not covering it could be higher. “It isn’t just the cost of the therapy. It’s the long-term cost. Bipolar illness has devastating effects on families as well as on the patients themselves.”

bp magazine launches new online features

2007-06-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

bp Magazine, a publication for those with bipolar launched in the fall of 2004, has re-launched its complementary website www.bphope.com, offering the bipolar community a new online resource to connect with each other and the opportunity to generate relevant editorial content for future bipolar magazine issues.

bp Magazine’s www.bipolarbuzz.com (bp Buzz blog) launched simultaneously with its new site, features articles and up-to-date information of interest to those living with bipolar disorder. bp Buzz will prove to be one of the most innovative approaches to further connecting the bipolar community—addressing everything from bipolar symptoms to shared issues and concerns that affect family members.

In addition to a new look and feel, the bipolar resources on www.bphope.com include engaging feature articles from bp Magazine. From the summer 2007 edition, readers will enjoy its cover story “The Many Faces and Facets of bp” which examines one of the most complex and misunderstood forms of mental illness. The featured article, “A Delicate Balance” takes a look at how achieving a balance with bipolar disorder is a constant work in progress.

A novel feature, In Your Words, allows readers to submit their own personal stories and comments. On My Mind encourages readers to share full essays about their experiences with bipolar disorder; Sound Off asks readers to contribute to a specific topic proposed for each issue of bp Magazine; and For Myself invites those with bipolar to tell about the big and little things that make each day more balanced and rewarding.

Readers are also encouraged to participate in future issues of bp Magazine by signing up for an interview on a specific topic concerning bipolar disorder on Talk to bp Writers.

Among the information that makes www.bphope.com a more comprehensive resource for the bipolar community are an in-depth history of bipolar depression along with statistics and definitions; book reviews with a link to Amazon.com; and a section devoted to other, outside resources. Individual and bulk subscriptions to bp Magazine are also available online.

Update: Electroboy confirms for September 29

2007-06-26T08:05:00.001-07:00

Andy Behrman, the author of Electroboy: A memoir of mania, has confirmed that he will be speaking at one of our events in Northern Virginia on September 29.

For years Andy hid his raging mania under a larger-than-life personality. He sought a high wherever he could find one, and changed jobs as some people change outfits -- filmmaker, art dealer, hustler; whatever made him feel like a cartoon character, invincible and bright. Electroboy is about living life at breakneck speed. Andy hopped on flights from New York to Tokyo and Paris at a moment's notice, spent $25,000 without a bit of thought on a huge shopping spree and stayed awake nights exploring the underworld of nightlife in Manhattan or whatever city he happened to be visiting, in search of the perfect high. But when Andy turned to art forgery, he found himself the subject of a scandal lapped up by the New York media, then in jail, then under house arrest. And for once he didn't have a ready escape hatch from his unraveling life.

Andy was misdiagnosed by more than eight doctors and even when he was finally diagnosed with this chronic illness, he was treated unsuccessfully with any regimen of medication. Ingesting handfuls of antidepressants and tranquilizers, he felt his mind lose traction. With no hope of his condition stabilizing, he turned to the last resort: electroshock therapy also known as electroconvulsive therapy (or ECT). Andy underwent nineteen electroshock treatments over the course of about a year and a half.

Now Andy is a mental health writer and speaker who has traveled to more than fifty cities across the United States and Canada, speaking to more than two hundred mental health organizations and support groups, psychiatric groups, college audiences, and book clubs. Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania has been translated into six foreign languages and is distributed worldwide in places as far away as Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong, Latin America, and South Africa. His articles have been featured in The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, on the BBC, and in various mental health publications and websites. Recently Behrman was featured on CNN's "360" with Anderson Cooper, and NPR's "The Infinite Mind."

A graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, he currently lives mania-free in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. Electroboy is currently being made into a major motion picture. Not only is Andy working on a sequel to Electroboy, but he is also writing a self-help book for sufferers of depression and bipolar disorder.

New lifetime mania test

2007-06-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

People can now measure their lifetime experience of mania through a new web questionnaire developed by Cardiff University School of Medicine researchers. The Bipolar Lifetime Mania Scale is the same test as that undertaken by entertainer Stephen Fry last year when he came to Cardiff to film a BBC documentary about his own struggle with bipolar. The test measures an individual’s place on the mania spectrum. At one end are those who have severe and frequent manic episodes and the other are those who have only mild and infrequent periods of elevated mood, if any at all.

An article on the test can be found here and a link to the Cardiff University School of Medicine can be found here.

Bipolar related speakers coming to the Washington, D.C. area

2007-06-23T09:03:00.001-07:00

The following speakers are coming to the Washington, D.C. area in the near future. All of the events will be at the George Washington University Hospital auditorium unless otherwise noted. The auditorium is located at 900 23rd Street NW in Washington, D.C.

On Thursday, July 19,7:30 PM, Alan G. Mallinger, MD, Unit Chief of the Adult Outpatient Clinic, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD will present: "Pathophysiology of Affective Disorders and Potential New Treatments for Treatment Resistent Mood Disorders." Libby Jolkovsky, MS, Research Psychologist will present: "Participating in a Research Study: The Screening and Eligibility Process, What it's Like and Our Current Studies" Auditorium.

Frederick Goodwin, M.D. will return on Thurdsay, October 18.7:30 PM Dr. Goodwin will discuss the latest in research and treatment of recurrent depression and bipolar disorder. A substatial amount of time will be devoted to questions and answers on the treatment of mood disorders. Dr. Goodwin is the co-author of "Manic Depressive Illness" and former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. He is currently a research psychiatrist on the faculty of George Washington University School of Medicine. Auditorium.

DBSA National Capital Area and DBSA Northern Virginia Chapters co-sponsor Pete Earley in a Northern Virginia location to be announced. Mr. Earley is the author of "Crazy: A Father's Search through America's Mental Health Madness." Mr. Earley's book chronicles his son's struggle with bipolar disorder and his own response. It has been called "a unique book-one of the best!" by NAMI and a "godsend" bu Patty Duke who has bipolar disorder.

In addition, Andy Behrman, the author if Electroboy: A memoir of mania, is coming to Northern Virginia on an unspecified date in October.

New bipolar support groups in Woodbridge and Ashburn

2007-06-22T03:28:00.000-07:00

DBSA-Northern Virginia, a local affiliate of the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance, has announced plans to start two new support groups for those living with bipolar.
The support groups will meet once every two weeks in Ashburn, Virginia and Woodbridge, Virginia, and will compliment the organization's two other support groups -- one for loved ones and one for those with bipolar -- in Centreville, Virginia.
The Ashburn Bipolar Support Group will hold its first meeting on June 30, 2007 at Ashburn Psychological Services , Suite 251 Conference Room, 44110 Ashburn Shopping Plaza, Ashburn, VA. The Woodbridge Bipolar Support Group will hold its first meeting on July 11, 2007 at Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building, Leesylvania Room, 15941 Donald Curtis Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22191.

New website for DBSA-Northern Virginia

2007-06-22T03:27:00.000-07:00

DBSA-Northern Virginia, the local affiliate of the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance, has launched a new website at www.dbsanova.org.

OutgoingVirginia Governor seeks millions for the mentally ill

2005-12-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner announced a sweeping $460 million spending proposal yesterday that would replace several aging hospitals and training facilities for the mentally ill and retarded in Virginia while allocating more to community-based services for the mentally disabled, according to The Washington Post.

The proposal, which Warner (D) will include in his upcoming budget and which will require approval by the General Assembly, calls for building four replacements for some of the state's oldest facilities for the mentally disabled: Western State Hospital in Staunton, Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, the Central Virginia Training Center in Lynchburg and the Southeastern Virginia Training Center in Chesapeake. The cost would be $290 million.

The plan also includes nearly $170 million in state and federal funds to help move hundreds of the nearly 3,000 people in the state's 15 institutions to smaller group homes in their communities and increasing outpatient services for those who live in group homes across the state.

Pennsylvania man with bp helps others heal

2005-11-27T04:14:00.001-08:00

The Associated Press profiles, Bob Forrey, a Pennsylvania man with bipolar disorder who has had command hallucinations from God and others that told him to jump into the Susquehanna River. This months, Forrey is recognized for this work with a government agency and for his climb back to normalcy. Eli Lilly and Company recognizes Forrey with one of its annual Reintegration Awards, which are given to mental health professionals and people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder who have outstanding achivements.

The awards are presented conjunction with Reintegration Today, the free quarterly magazine published by Eli Lilly and Company. Since 1997, Eli Lilly, the maker of zyprexa, has been presenting the awards. This year, Lilly presented individual awards for artistic achivement, mentorship and inspiration, and group or organizational awards for advocacy, clinical medicine, on-the-job work, continous learning, home care, social support and lifetime achivement.

Meeting times and locations have been secured

2005-11-25T02:17:00.000-08:00

We have been blessed to have had two separate groups recently volunteer meeting places for our groups. These two groups are scheduled to begin meeting in January in Centreville, Virginia:

* The support group for those with bipolar disorder will be meeting in a second-floor classroom in the new educational wing of Centreville United Methodist Church, which is located at 6400 Old Centreville Road, which is at the intersection of Route 28 and New Braddock Road. The meetings will be held on the second and the fourth Tuesdays of each month, with an additional Tuesday added on occasion to ensure that we are meeting once every two weeks. The meetings will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., with the first meeting scheduled for January 10.

We hope to see you there. If you are interested, we are looking for volunteers to coordinate the distribution of the educational materials (brochures, mood charts, food tips, etc.) that will be available at each meeting; volunteers to help coordinate our publications and management of our online sites; volunteers to help coordinate refreshments for our meetings and a variety of other things that can be done to help out. To inquire about volunteering opportunities, write bipolarhope@jayson-blair.com.

* The support group for those whose loved ones have bipolar we be meeting at the home of Thomas and Frances Blair, who live at 14369 Round Lick Lane, which is near the intersection of Round Lick Lane and Sequoia Farms Drive. The meetings will be held on the first and the third Tuesdays of each month. The meetings will start at 7 p.m., with the first meeting scheduled for January 17. For more information on this meeting, contact Fran Blair at franblair@verizon.net.

Children of bp parents are more creative

2005-11-23T05:44:00.000-08:00

Many scientists, noteably Kay Redfield Jamison in her book Touched with Fire, see a link between creativity and bipolar disorder, but now researchers at Stanford University's School of Medicine have found that having bipolar parents can pay dividends in creativity.

A small study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, said offspring of parents with bp -- even those who did not suffer the condition themselves -- scored higher on creativity tests than those with mentally sound parents. "I think it's fascinating," study coauthor Dr. Kiki Chang, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, told the United Press International. "There is a reason that many people who have bipolar disorder become very successful, and these findings address the positive aspects of having this illness."

Review of 72-Hour Hold

2005-11-22T04:56:00.000-08:00

Svetlana Gelman, of The Knight News at Queens College, reviews 72 Hour Hold, a novel by Bebe Moore Campbell, that “brings the world of a parent living with a mentally ill child right in your face.” Gelman sites the power of the book and writes that “there is a tiny reprieve where the reader is allowed to glimpse Trina, the daughter, who has bipolar disorder, on her meds and peacefully cuddled up with her mother.”

A 72-hour hold refers to the amount of time for which a person can be hospitalized against his or her will in California, where Campbell lives. Campbell has previous discussed how elements of the novel are autobiographical. The novel explores the difficulties for parents attempting to help children with bipolar, and how family history can become clouded by the stigma of mental illness to the detriment of all involved in the process of helping someone recover.

Music therapy used to help bipolar patients

2005-11-22T04:44:00.000-08:00

The Journal-Star of Lincoln, Nebraska reports on Dr. Galina Mindlin, a New York psychiatrist,
who records brain waves and converts them to mood-altering musical notes, which are later transferred to a CDs for patients with bipolar to play and help with their moods. Brain music therapy was developed in 1991 by a physician at the Moscow Medical Academy.

Dr. Mindlin uses software to make brain waves sound like any number of 120 different instruments and then programs them like a piano. “People who feel restless can use the ‘relaxation’ file (part of the CD) to give an emotional down,” Dr. Mindlin tells The Journal-Star. For patients already feeling too far down, she adds, “they can use the ‘activation’ file” on the CD to bring them up.

Dr. Mindlin, 46, was born and trained in Russia. Besides her private practice, she teaches at Columbia University and is a supervising attending physician in psychiatry at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York City.

Seroquel appears to help bipolar depression

2005-11-22T04:11:00.000-08:00

Seroquel, an antipsychotic drug approved for the manic phase of bipolar and for schizophrenia, is now under study for the depressive phase of bipolar disorder and the early research results suggest that the drug is almost twice as effective at reducing suicidal thoughts as placebos. "That's remarkable because the medications that we have currently, to my knowledge, have never been shown to have [that much of an impact] effect on suicide,” Dr. Joseph Calabrese, a psychiatrist, told News 14 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Calabrese, who says patients with bipolar disorder are 10 times more likely to attempt suicide than those who do not, points out that this attempts most often occur during a depressed phase, and that new research into using the drug Seroquel to combat bipolar depression is encouraging. Calabrese says, “There's a desperate need for new treatments for bipolar depression."

There are, however, a number of drugs on the market that have been shown to reduce the symptoms of depression in those with bipolar, including lithium and several antipsychotic drugs. It is unclear what the side effects of Seroquel are in bipolar patients and the drug is now awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use in combating bipolar depression.

Oregon mother looks for clues to her bp son's death

2005-11-22T03:51:00.000-08:00

A month after her 36-year-old son, who had bipolar, was killed by federal agents in the Montana, Linda Watts is making little progress in her search for answers as to why the border patrol gunned him down.

Watts does not believe her son, Jeffrey Suddeth, posed a threat to anyone, according to this report in the Rockford (OR) Register Star, and feels law enforcement officials have not given her satisfactory answers. Suddeth had a criminal record and had battled bipolar disorder, but Watts believes that most of her son’s problems were behind him.

Suddeth, Watts said, was “probably hungry and sleepy” and she worries that “his bipolar was working on him, and they didn’t take time to talk with him.”

When Lady Luck met bp

2005-11-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

In an article in the latest issue of bp, a magazine for those with bipolar, Jane Pauley, talks with author and mental health advocate Lizzie Simon about life after her diagnosis with bipolar and the cancellation of her television program NBC in an article entitled “The sanest person on TV.” Simon writes that had Pauley’s “fans learned that she was seeking help for bipolar they would not have been alone in their surprise. Pauley had never imagined that she would suffer from mental illness.”

Pauley goes into detail about the breakdown she suffered “confusing, humiliating, destabilizing episodes and mania” four years ago and the journey toward recovery that began, in part, because of the help of her husband, the cartoonist, Gary Trudeau, who noticed behavioral changes among the man that Larry Grossman, the one-time head of NBC, publicly called the sanest person in television.

According to the article, Pauley finally received the help she after she told her psychiatrist that while she was no suicidal, she could finally understand why someone would not to commit suicide. The combination of her husband’s concerns and her doctors led to Pauley being hospitalized at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic in New York City. All of a sudden, Pauley’s celebrity status was working against her. A tabloid posted a reporter in the lobby of the apartment building where she lived in order to look into rumors she had been hospitalized.

Several years later, through therapy and lithium, Pauley was back at the top of her game, launching a new NBC show called The Jane Pauley Show, which has since been cancelled. Pauley also wrote a powerful memoir, called Skywriting, that addresses her illness. Simon writes that “the future is wide open for Pauley,” but every indication is that mental health advocacy, with a particular focus on the issue of stigma, will be an important part of her life in the future.

Other articles in this issue of bp include those on improving your moods with food; detecting bipolar among look-alike illnesses in children; a story of being African-American with bipolar; the affect of winter on bipolar patients and getting help from loved ones.

"Birds from the Thicket" Author Discusses Bipolar Struggle

2005-11-21T05:27:00.000-08:00

Washington State resident Gerry Bradley’s first book, called “Birds from the Thicket,” touches upon overcoming great odds, including his struggle with bipolar disorder. “It’s not just for those who suffer from the disease, but for all those who are on the periphery and who are dealing with it,” Bradley told The Enid (Oklahoma) News & Eagle on Sunday. Bradley, who started working on the book seven years ago, told The News & Eagle that the book was inspired by his faith and God and a realization that these efforts are “what being a Christian is all about, helping people.” Bradley adds, “As a person of faith, I think God has been preparing me for this all my life.”

Diagnosis of Bipolar Rising Among Children

2005-11-21T05:18:00.000-08:00

Diagnosis of bipolar disorder is rising among children, according to a news report on KOTV, Channel 6, a television news station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. KOTV reports that “experts say millions of Americans are living with extreme manic highs and depressed lows” and that while “doctors used to think it could only happen in adults, now some are saying its happening much younger.” The Tulsa station looks at the controversy surrounding bipolar diagnosis among children and the concerns among some psychiatrists that the illness is over-diagnosed or misdiagnosed.

News & Research Round-up: 11/19/2005

2005-11-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

A new study published this month in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry and other new evidence suggests that lithium is as effective in treating rapid-cycling bipolar as depakote, something that has surprised researchers and clinicians … David Oliver, a New Jersey man, has set out on a mission to provide much needed information: information for the families of those who have bipolar. Check out the news release or his new site ... Jane Pauley continues her mental health advocacy efforts with a speech at Fort Myers' Bishop Verot High School in Florida, where she said, “If I have a goal, it’s to yank mental illness into the realm of bad things that can happen in a normal life,” adding that she choose to go public with her illness in her book Skywriting in order to “normalize the experience of mental illness.” Pauley, 54, added, “My goal is to see the attitude about mental illness normalized before the next generation” ... Bipolar for Dummies hits the shelves … Lithium has been used during pregnancy for more than four decades, but quantification of fetal lithium exposure and clinical correlations of such exposure are limited. This study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry examines perenantial complications of lithium use … A report in the November issue of Cell Metabolism reveals powerful effects of light on the adrenal glands, a finding that might explain the broad benefits of bright light therapy for a variety of conditions, including sleep and depressive disorders, including bipolar … Researchers argue that bipolar children are often more creative …

Meetings Scheduled to Begin in January

2005-11-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Our meetings are scheduled to begin in January for our western Fairfax County groups for those who suffer from bipolar disorder and a separate group for their loved ones. We have obtained a warm setting in a family home in Centreville, Virginia for the “loved ones” meetings and we are working on ironing out an agreement for a church or other organization to host those who have bipolar disorder. Closer to January, as more information begins to become available, come back here of visit our meetings page for information about where and when our groups are meeting.

Welcome to the Bipolar Support Group for Northern Virginia's News and Information Blog

2005-11-19T11:25:00.000-08:00

A warm welcome to those of you who have found your way to the Bipolar Support Group for Northern Virginia news and information website. Our main web address can be located to the right and we invite you to check out the available resources there, including educational material about bipolar, advice for loved ones of those with the illnesses, recommending reading and much more.

This blog is used to update members of our group and others out there on the Web of news and information about our group, and information about bipolar that might be of assistance.

Good luck on your journey.