Case Western to Establish First Bipolar Research Center

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has awarded a $2.7 million research grant for developing a Center for Bipolar Disorder Research at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland (UHC).

This grant marks the first time NIMH has funded a research center devoted exclusively to bipolar disorder.

NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D., presided over a dedication of the new center. “Bipolar disorder is a disabling illness that affects more than two million Americans each year,” Insel said. “This is an excellent opportunity to fund research that can improve the diagnosis and treatment of this serious mental illness.”

Co-directors of the new center are Joseph R. Calabrese, M.D., director of the mood disorders program at UHC and a professor of psychiatry at Case’s School of Medicine, and Robert L. Findling, M.D., director of child and adolescent psychiatry at UHC and associate professor of psychiatry at Case.

The center’s mission is to improve clinical outcomes in traditionally underserved individuals diagnosed with bipolar illness, including those receiving care within community mental health centers, children and adolescents, and adolescents and adults with co-occurring substance use disorders.

Calabrese has recently broadened his research on bipolar disorder to encompass the study and treatment of patients with bipolar disorder who also abuse alcohol and drugs. These patients, traditionally excluded from research, represent approximately 50 percent to 60 percent of the population of individuals suffering with this illness, he said.

Findling’s research involves children and adolescents with the illness. Current studies include these:

• The first NIMH study to examine the efficacy of acute treatment of bipolar disorder. The goal is to enhance key information that clinicians need to treat their patients.

• A study of new treatments for very young children with symptoms of bipolar disorder (funded by the Stanley Medical Research Institute).

• Using psychotherapy to treat children and adolescents who have a parent with bipolar disorder (funded by the Stanley Medical Research Institute). The study is aimed at preventing the illness from expressing itself.

Findling and Calabrese are also collaborating on a $2.3 million NIMH study to develop and test a new tool for diagnosing bipolar disorder that can be used in urban community mental health centers. ▪