Active clinical trials for "Bipolar Disorder"

Depression and bipolar disorder are major public health concerns for adolescents today. Teenage depression and bipolar disorder are associated with social isolation, family stress, school failure, substance abuse and suicide. Screening for depression and bipolar disorder so that treatment can be started early in the course of illness is an urgent public health priority. Many teens with bipolar disorder are incorrectly diagnosed as having unipolar depression. It is critical that adolescents receive proper screening and assessment that leads to an accurate diagnosis and treatment. An efficient, cost-effective, blood-based screening program could be performed on an annual or semi-annual basis to potentially detect depression and then differentiate between unipolar and bipolar depression. If this type of screening were able to detect a significant percentage of teens with depression or bipolar disorder, the positive impact on U.S. public health would be substantial. The purpose of this study is to conduct a pilot study to assess the probability of detecting adolescent unipolar and bipolar depression through blood samples.

This is an open label, randomised, parallel-group study to compare the efficacy and safety of quetiapine and valproate used as monotherapy in the treatment of mania in patients hospitalised for an acute manic episode. After given of informed consent and undergoing screening procedures, the patients will be randomised into quetiapine or valproate group on Day 1. The efficacy of study treatment on symptoms of mania will be assessed at Day 28. Patients will not permitted to use any psychoactive or antipsychotic medications throughout the study period other than those expressly permitted by the protocol. At each centre, the same individual will administer a specific psychiatric assessment for a patient at all study visits in order to reduce variability in rating scale scoring. Before the initiation of the study, a consistency assessment will be done among the investigators who conduct the scale assessment in each centre.

A preliminary study to determine the possibility of using far infrared radiation for the treatment of the Bipolar Condition

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Lithium is safe and effective in the treatment of Bipolar I Disorder subjects with symptoms of acute mania.

We hypothesize that depressed patients who have not responded to their current antidepressant medication will respond to the addition of ropinirole to their current regimen at a rate better than placebo.

The investigators will perform a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial of theta-burst stimulation (TBS) in mixed depressive episodes of both bipolar and major depressive disorders. Will be selected 90 patients aged 18-65 years with diagnosis of TB (I or II) or MDD in moderate or severe major depressive episode with mixed features. The primary endpoint of efficacy will be a continuous outcome of change in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) from baseline to week 3.

The purpose of this study is to determine if taking green tea capsules can help prevent weight gain in patients that start therapy with Zyprexa® (olanzapine).

The main aim of this study is to test a new, non-medication computer-based potential treatment for bipolar disorder in children and adolescents. In the study, children and adolescents with bipolar disorder will come to our lab at Bradley Hospital 2-times per week for 8-weeks to "play" a custom computer "game" designed to retrain the brain--to build a skill that my work has shown is impaired in children/adolescents with bipolar disorder. Before and after this 8-week trial, children will have a special magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. This is a test of feasibility--meaning we want to see if the 8-week trial results in brain changes. If it does, we will conduct a second study to see if it improves how bipolar children function--i.e., if it helps their illness.

In this project, investigators intend to carry out the first simultaneous, in vivo, imaging study of lithium content and sodium ion homeostasis in the brain of Bipolar Disorder (BPD) patients under Lithium therapy.

During this study the investigators will 1) collect measures of social cognition and social functioning in adolescents and young adults who are experiencing early symptoms of a major mental disorder; and 2) evaluate the predictive value and utility of a new role functioning assessment measure for individuals experiencing changes in their lives after an index episode of mental illness. This will happen in the context of providing treatment-as-usual to individuals who arrive seeking help with the early phases of mental illness.