WHY RESEARCH?
Bipolar disorder merits more attention from the scientific community.
For those living with it and researchers trying to unravel its secrets, bipolar disorder is a slippery customer indeed.
While no two individuals experience bipolar disorder in the exact same way, episodes of extreme highs (mania) and extreme lows (depression)—punctuated by periods of "normality"—are classic symptoms of the disorder.
Researchers, meanwhile, continue to fight their own battle with the condition.
Yes, progress continues—at a snail’s pace—to be made into understanding bipolar disorder.
But . . .
. . . improving the quality of life of those diagnosed with the condition . . .
. . . mitigating its symptoms . . .
. . . and ensuring the wider, practical adaptation of research findings still remain some of the major challenges. [1]
Although we now know that bipolar disorder takes many forms, the root cause(s) of the condition remains a mystery, and the condition 'continues to thwart a tremendous effort to understand its pathogenesis'. [2]
Making matters worse still is the fact that bipolar disorder receives less research attention than it should. [3]
For us at The Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research, the condition is personal.
We lost our son, friend, brother and a gifted blues musician to bipolar disorder . . .
. . . only to gain a hopeful but welcome perspective into the condition.
Diagnoses and treatment interventions have a critical bearing on the quality of life of bipolar individuals.
Serious mental health conditions burn a massive hole in America’s pocket.
According to one estimate, the annual per capita cost associated with them is equivalent to more than $1,000. (The estimation ignored the co-occurring conditions, homelessness, incarceration, and reduced life expectancy associated with them.)
Yet, the National Institutes of Health spends disproportionately less on mental health research than it does on cancer research.
According to Vladimir Maletic, M.D., MS, clinical professor of psychiatry/behavioral science at the University of South Carolina's School of Medicine Greenville, ‘Recognizing bipolar disorder early on and effectively treating it may help diminish the comorbidities and mortality associated with the disease.’
A Steering Committee member of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Learning Network’s Psych Congress conference, Dr. Maletic also warns that bipolar individuals face several increased risks, [1] which are only compounded by inaccurate, belated and/or inadequate diagnoses and interventions:
• Compared with the healthy population, bipolar individuals are twice as vulnerable to migraine, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
• They are two to three times more likely to succumb to endocrine, cardiovascular, or cerebrovascular conditions.
• They are also more likely to succumb to vascular disease vis-à-vis suicide, which is nevertheless a major concern with bipolar disorder—about 1 in 2 bipolar individuals is likely to attempt suicide, especially during a depressive episode.
Studies have shown that early detection of bipolar disorder, besides education and marriage, can contribute to functional recovery. [2]
Because functional recovery is likely to be limited in those with bipolar disorder, research into timely & accurate diagnoses as well as effective treatment interventions is of vital importance.