Just came across this article/press release showing a link between successful medical treatment and psychoeducation... gee, whould would have thought... That's why these bipolar disorder videos are onlne/

An excerpt from the article is below:
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TITLE: New Treatment Model for Bipolar Disorder Shows Promise

...Developed by Bauer and colleagues, the model brings together psychiatrists and nurses as a team to treat the patients.
Psychiatrists monitored symptoms and handled medications. Nurse care coordinators worked with veterans during group
education sessions.
During the weekly group sessions, nurses discussed topics such as medication side effects and early warning signs for
symptoms, which in bipolar disorder range from racing speech, bursts of optimism and impulsive behavior during manic
episodes to fatigue, social withdrawal and suicidal thoughts during depressive episodes. During the sessions, patients
discussed coping skills, got feedback from the group and created personal action plans.
The intervention was tested for three years. The results: Under the new model, patients saw a significant reduction in
symptoms, including five fewer weeks experiencing mania during the three-year study period. Patients also felt happier
and healthier, reporting more productive time at work, better relationships with family, and more satisfaction with their
care.
The new model was less expensive - an average of $61,398 for three years of direct bipolar disorder treatment costs
compared with $64,379 for usual care - although the difference was not statistically significant...
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Full text and source: http://www.emaxhealth.com/112/6963.html

Tragic story in the mass media today appeared after an airline passenger was killed after claiming he had a bomb. The 44 year-old man was said to have bipolar disorder (manic-depression). He did not have his medication and reportedly his wife was screaming he was bipolar and was without his medication. FOX News even asked if it was his wife's fault for not bringing the medications with them. Maybe they forgot them? Maybe they ran out on their international trip? I wonder what this will do to the stigma against mental illness and more specifically bipolar disorder? Will this lead to tougher laws that remove rights from the mentally ill?

Hello Everyone, Just thought I would give you an update on our production of the Bipolar Disorder Video Series. Our next episode is going to feature some short interviews of individuals with bipolar disorder. We hope to have these ready and posted by December 1st. Thanks for tuning in!

Hello Everyone, Just thought I would give you an update on our production of the Bipolar Disorder Video Series. Our next episode is going to feature some short interviews of individuals with bipolar disorder. We hope to have these ready and posted by December 1st. Thanks for tuning in!

Someone brought this electro-mechanical treatment to my attention yesterday. It may be old news to some but this is the first I have heard of it. VNS Therapy (Vagus Nerve Stimulation)for chronic or recurrent depression, designed for patients and their friends and family members. More at their webiste: http://vnstherapy.com/default.aspx

This one looks interesting: The symptoms overlap quite a bit and I know the psych's often have a hard time seperating the symptoms.... Psychiatrist Claims That Many Bipolar Adults Have ADHD DENVER/EWORLDWIRE/Sep. 27, 2005 --- Dr. William Niederhut, a Denver psychiatrist and Harvard Medical graduate, claims in a new book that many adults with bipolar disorders have ADHD and are suffering from an inherited disorder that he calls the Childhood-Onset Bipolar Attention-Deficit, or "COBAD," syndrome. "These adults typically experience episodic depression, irritability, and anxiety beginning in their childhood years, along with symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)," said Niederhut. "The ADHD is an integral part of their bipolar disorder, and prevents them from responding fully to conventional treatment with mood stabilizers and antidepressants." More at: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/wr/092705/12724.htm

Are you on too many medications for bipolar disroder? I came across this interesting article this week on the idea of too much overlapping medications... We are in the process of working on the next video segment on medication and treatment for bipolar disorder and thought this was relevant... "Multiple Medication Use in General Practice and Psychiatry: So What?" by Ahsan Y. Khan, M.D., and Sheldon H. Preskorn, M.D. Multiple medication use is the rule rather than exception in modern therapeutics. Factors affecting the recent increase in utilization of medications include the growth of third-party insurance coverage for drugs; increased marketing efforts to promote new medications to prescribers and directly to consumers; and clinical guidelines recommending long-term treatment for chronic conditions such as high cholesterol, acid reflux disease, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and clinical depression. Here is a link to the full text: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=172901304

I noticed this interesting but complex sounding article a few weeks back and decided to post reference to it. Its title is suggestive: "Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy: managing the chaos of bipolar disorder" What’s’ is so intriguing is the idea that not everything in managing bipolar disorder is about medications. As my buddy Terry said, “it’s about wellness and living right.� Anyway the article is by Ellen Frank Corresponding Author Contact Information, a, Holly A. Swartza and David J. Kupfera, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA It was published in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 48, Number 6, 15 September 2000, pp. 593-604(12). Here is a weblink to a full text version: http://www.sciencedirect.com/

We are now working on production of our next video for the project. Should be ready in a few weeks. Comments and subject request welcome.