Patients suffering from bipolar disorder who underwent therapy to help them maintain a regular daily routine and cope with stress were able to avoid relapses over a two-year period, a study has found. The study, published in September’s Archives of General Psychiatry, examined a therapy developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Using what researchers dubbed interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, patients were taught how to keep to normal sleeping, eating and other daily routines. They also were shown how to anticipate and cope with stress just as a diabetic who would be taught, for example, how to cook and eat differently. “This is really a […]
Mice may be teaching us about the genetic basis of bipolar disorder. This mood disorder, which is often called by its older name, manic-depressive illness, is characterized by wide mood swings that range from high (manic) to low (depressed). Scientists, who published their research in the April 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), studied mice that have a variation or mutation in a gene called the Clock gene. The Clock gene helps regulate the body’s daily circadian rhythm — the ups and downs of biological functions that occur over a 24-hour period. Mice with this variant gene show signs similar to human mania. When […]