Active clinical trials for "Bipolar Disorder"

The purpose of this research study is to confirm the safety and effectiveness of aripiprazole therapy over 12 weeks in subjects with bipolar disorder experiencing symptoms of mania.

A long-term study of current treatments for bipolar disorder, including medications and psychosocial therapies.

This study will explore the possible effectiveness of levetiracetam in patients with bipolar illness who have not responded adequately to standard treatments. Levetiracetam was recently approved to treat seizures. Other drugs in the same class as levetiracetam, including carbamazepine and valproate, are widely recognized as substitute medications for lithium or are used as an adjunct to it, and other anticonvulsants have also shown promise in improving bipolar symptoms. Patients with bipolar illness whose manic, depressed or unstable moods are not adequately controlled by their current treatment and who have not responded previously to two standard treatments (i.e., lithium, valproate, carbamazepine or neuroleptics) may be eligible for this study. Participants will take levetiracetam starting at 500 mg daily. If this dose is well tolerated, it will be increased to 500 mg twice a day. Every 3 days, doses may be increased until the target dose of 3000 mg/day is reached. Higher doses, not to exceed 4000 mg/day, may be tried in patients who do not respond fully to the lower doses. Patients and observers will use standard ratings to evaluate the patients' response to therapy during the 8-week study. If, after 8 weeks, the results appear promising, patients may continue treatment for an additional 6 months to evaluate longer-term effects.

There is a scarcity of clinical trials assessing the effects of medications in children with bipolar disorder. This study aims to assess the efficacy of Aripiprazole (a novel anti-psychotic drug) for the treatment of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder comorbid with ADHD. The study design is a 8-week randomized, double blind, parallel group trial. Patients were randomized to either aripiprazole or placebo. The main hypotheses are: Aripiprazole will significantly reduce maniac scores compared to placebo Aripiprazole will significantly reduce ADHD scores compared to placebo

The opiate neurotransmitter system is thought to be involved in many abnormal mood states. Some researchers have suggested that changes in this system may trigger the switch to/from manic and depressive states in bipolar disorder. One problem with most of the currently available opiate medications is that they can produce addiction/dependence. A particular kind of opiate medication known as kappa-opiates may be able to produce changes in this system with much less risk of addiction. This study looks at Talwin (a combination of pentazocine and naloxone), a medication which affects the kappa and mu opiate systems. The study will examine whether two doses of Talwin affect manic symptoms in people who have been admitted to the hospital. This study will give more information about the involvement of the opiate system in bipolar disorder, and give important information for use in developing new treatments.

The primary objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of olanzapine and fluoxetine combined on all the visits as compared with the baseline visit in patients with bipolar disorder, measured by the total score of the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS).

This is a randomized, parallel, open-label study of patients who have responded to treatment in the acute phase of their manic or mixed episode, with or without psychotic symptoms, with olanzapine in mono or co-therapy, and who are in syndromic and symptomatic remission at the time of enrollment into the study.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of clozapine as a treatment for the manic phase of bipolar disorder. A significant proportion of manic patients either do not respond adequately to conventional treatment or cannot tolerate the adverse effects associated with therapeutic doses of these agents. Clozapine may be a safe and effective treatment for mania. However, the efficacy of clozapine as an alternative therapy in treatment-resistant bipolar disorder mania has not been extensively researched. The study will be conducted in three phases. Phase 1 is a screening phase that will take place for 2 to 7 days. Participants will undergo a baseline positron emission tomography (PET) scan of the brain at the end of this period. In Phase 2, participants will be randomly assigned to receive either clozapine or placebo (an inactive pill) for 3 weeks. They may also receive lorazepam for the first 10 days of Phase 2. After 3 weeks, patients treated with clozapine will undergo a second PET scan. During Phase 3, participants who received placebo and did not improve will be offered clozapine for 3 weeks. Those who received clozapine and did not improve will receive other treatment for 3 weeks. At the end of Phase 3, participants who were treated with clozapine will have another PET scan.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the drug felbamate for treating depression in patients with bipolar disorder that has not responded to standard treatments. Bipolar disorder is a severe, chronic, and often life-threatening illness. Despite the availability of a wide range of antidepressant drugs, a proportion of patients fail to respond to first-line antidepressant treatment despite adequate dosage, duration, and compliance. Studies suggest that the glutamatergic system may play a role in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression. Felbamate and other agents which reduce glutamatergic neurotransmission may represent a novel class of antidepressants. Participants in this study will be admitted to the Clinical Center for up to 10 weeks. At study entry, participants will have a 7-day washout period in which they will be tapered off all psychiatric medications, with the possible exception of lithium, and will be given a placebo (an inactive pill). After the washout period, participants will be randomly assigned to receive either felbamate or placebo for 8 weeks. Participants whose depression symptoms worsen by more than 30% or those for whom study continuation is considered potentially harmful will be taken off the study and offered open-label treatment. Participants who received felbamate and responded well to treatment will have the option of continuing treatment.

The purpose of this study is to learn if aripiprazole is effective for the treatment of patients with acute symptoms of Bipolar disorder.