Posts by Former NIMH Director Thomas Insel about Bipolar Disorder

At a recent awards dinner, Research!America honored patients who worked with researchers to find cures for disease; Dr. Insel shows what we can learn from these collaborations and gives an example of how genetic research can lead to effective treatment.

Antipsychotics help people through the crisis of acute psychosis, but the long-term management of chronic mental illness is another matter. It appears that what we currently call “schizophrenia” may comprise disorders with quite different trajectories. For some people, remaining on medication long-term might impede a full return to wellness. For others, discontinuing medication can be disastrous.

Dr. Insel explains the nuances of the term, “serious mental illness.”

Dr. Insel shares NIMH’s Top 10 Research Advances for 2011.

Results of the two largest studies of their kind, to date, have identified new common gene variants associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The results implicate specific pathways and hold promise for development of new treatments.

An emerging research technology using Induced pluripotent stem cells holds promise as a window into the developing brain in mental illness.

NIMH is working to better define the boundaries of pediatric bipolar disorder, discover its causes and develop more effective treatments for such mood related syndromes affecting youth. Cross-cutting comparisons of mania-related and other forms of irritability and functional brain imaging studies will help to disentangle these syndromes so that clinicians can provide children with the best care. Our goal is nothing less than pre-emtive interventions and cures.