Inflammatory Cause of Bipolar Disorder Suggests New Treatments
PARIS – Recently reported evidence implicating inflammatory mediators in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder and major depression have opened the door to testing new agents for treating these psychiatric disorders or slowing their progression.
"Bipolar disorder is associated with neuroprogression, and oxidative stress, neurotrophins, and inflammation may underpin this process, Dr. Michael Berk said at the annual Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. "Early interventions can potentially improve the outcome" of bipolar disorder, and the new findings give new opportunities to find effective neuroprotective agents, said Dr. Berk, professor and chairman of psychiatry at Deakin University in Geelong, Australia.
"We increasingly think there is a systemic biology that underpins" bipolar disorder and potentially other inflammatory diseases. "The brain does not exist in isolation, and we need to understand that pathways similar to those that underpin risks for cardiovascular disorders, stroke, and osteoporosis might also underpin the risk for psychiatric disorders, and that other treatments might be helpful," he said in an interview.
Based on this concept, and supported by suggestive results from epidemiologic studies, Dr. Berk said he and his associates are running a prospective, randomized study assessing a role for aspirin in treating bipolar disorder, and that they are seeking funding for a second study to test combined treatment with a statin and aspirin in bipolar disorder patients.
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