Emerging therapies for bipolar depression.

T his ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS section of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry presents the highlights of the planning teleconference “Emerging Therapies for Bipolar Depression,” which was held February 9, 2006. This report was prepared by the CME Institute of Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc. and was supported by an educational grant from Cyberonics, Inc. The teleconference was chaired by Lauren B. Marangell, M.D., Mood Disorders Center, Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex. The faculty were David J. Kupfer, M.D., Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pa. ; Gary S. Sachs, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Partners Bipolar Treatment Center, Boston; and Alan C. Swann, M.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical School, Houston. Faculty disclosure: In the spirit of full disclosure and in compliance with all ACCME Essential Areas and Policies, the faculty for this CME article were asked to complete a statement regarding all relevant financial relationships between themselves or their spouse/partner and any commercial interest (i.e., any proprietary entity producing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients) occurring within at least 12 months prior to joining this activity. The CME Institute has resolved any conflicts of interest that were identified. The disclosures are as follows: Dr. Marangell is a consultant for Cyberonics, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, and Pfizer; has received grant/research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cyberonics, Eli Lilly, and Neuronetics; and has received honoraria from and is a member of the speakers or advisory boards for Cyberonics, Eli Lilly, Forest, and GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Kupfer is a consultant for Servier Amerique and is on the advisory boards of Pfizer, Forest, and SolvayWyeth. Dr. Sachs is a consultant for Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Elan, Sanofi, Sigma-Tau, and AstraZeneca; has received grant support from Abbott and Janssen; and has received honoraria from Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Solvay, Novartis, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer. Dr. Swann has received grant/research support from Abbott, Pfizer, Janssen, CIBA, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Shire, Novartis, and UCB Pharma; is a consultant for Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Shire, Novartis, Ortho-McNeil, and AstraZeneca; and is on the speaker’s bureau for Abbott, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Parke-Davis, and Ortho-McNeil. The opinions expressed herein are those of the faculty and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CME provider and publisher or the commercial supporter. Dr. Marangell began by stating that bipolar depression is a serious and potentially lethal phase of bipolar disorder with marked rates of suicidality. The challenges of treating bipolar depression begin with the difficulty of making an accurate diagnosis and are complicated by rapid cycling and treatment resistance. Each of these issues will be discussed.