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For depressed group with bipolar disorder who are taking a mood stabilizer, adding an anti depression medicate medication is no more effective than a placebo (sugar pill), according to results published online on March 28, generic viagra 50 mgin the New England Journal of Medicine. The results are part of the large-scale, multi-site Systematic Pharmacomedical care Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD), a $26.8 mil. clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Bipolar disorder, a sometimes debilitating illness marked by severe mood swings between depression and mania, is usually treated with mood stabilizers such as lithium, valproate, carbamazepine or otherness drugs that reduce mania. However, depression is more common than mania in bipolar disorder, and depressive episodes tend to last longer than episodes of mania. Antidepressant drugs are often used in addition to a mood stabilizer for treating bipolar depression, but they are thought to confer a serious risk of a switch from a depressive episode to a manic episode.

Finding the right medical care balance for group with bipolar disorder is a constant challenge; STEP-BD aims to identify the best medical care options. “Treating depression in group with bipolar disorder is notoriously difficult,” said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel. “STEP-BD sought to determine if adding an anti depression medicate to a mood stabilizer is effective and safe in treating depressive episodes. The results suggest that anti depression medicates are safe but not more effective than placebo as assessed in a large number of group with bipolar disorder. ”

Lead author Gary Sachs, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues studied 366 participants at 22 sites across the country. Unlike most clinical studies, participants were recruited from clinical settings and were included in the meditate even if they were being treated for co-existing disorders such as substance abuse, anxiety or psychotic symptoms. Such open recruitment criteria allows the meditate ’s results to have broader applicability than a tightly controlled trial in which group are excluded from participating if they have co-existing disorders.

Before participants were randomized to one of two anti depression medicates-bupropion (Wellbutrin) or Paxil(Paroxetine) (Paxil)-or to a placebo, doctors trained in the medical care of bipolar disorder adjusted participants’ mood stabilizer doses to optimal levels, ensuring that they were receiving the most appropriate amount.

After about 26 weeks, Sachs and colleagues found that 24 percent of those who had been randomized to the anti depression medicates stayed well for at least eight consecutive weeks-the meditate ’s stringent standard for recovery; 27 percent of those randomized to a placebo stayed well long enough to meet the eight-week recovery standard, indicating no difference between adding an anti depression medicate or adding placebo. In addition, about 10 percent of each group experienced emerging symptoms of mania, indicating that the anti depression medicates did not trigger a manic switch any more than placebo. Finally, when comparing the two anti depression medicates to each otherness, both showed similar rates of response and manic switch.

“Results of STEP-BD indicate that careful management of mood stabilizer drugs is a reasonable alternative to adding an anti depression medicate medication for treating bipolar depression,” said Dr. Sachs.

Future STEP-BD results will shed light on otherness medical care options for bipolar disorder, including psychothernessapeutic medical cares.

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The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) mission is to reduce the burden of mental and behavioral disorders through research on mind, brain, and behavior. More information is available at the NIMH website, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) – The Nation’s Medical Research Agency – includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, medical cares, and cures for both common and rare maladys. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.

Sachs G, et al. Effectiveness of Adjunctive Antidepressant Pharmacomedical care for Bipolar Depression: A Double-blind Placebo-controlled Study. New England Journal of Medicine. online 28 Mar 2007.

Contact: Colleen Labbe
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health buy generic viagra pillsbuy viagra soft tabs 100mg