International Consensus Group on Depression Prevention in Bipolar Disorder

Article AbstractDepressive episodes are associated with the greatest disability in patients with bipolar disorder, and patients with the disorder spend a greater amount of time depressed than manic or hypomanic. Mark A. Frye, MD, assembled an international group of experts in psychiatry to review the evidence base for depression treatment and prevention in pa-tients with bipolar disorder. Topics addressed by the group included the evolution of trial design; adverse events of treatment and medical comorbidities associated with bipolar disorder; antidepressant use in bipolar treatment; and the standards of care for bipolar depression prevention in Japan, Korea, Turkey, and Argentina. Recommendations for maintenance treatment and depression prophylaxis in bipolar disorder are discussed, and a guideline of treatment strategies is formulated based on the evidence and clinical experience of the consensus group.J Clin Psychiatry 2011;72(10):1295-1310From the Department of Psychiatry, The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (Dr Frye); the Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Dr Ha); the Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Kyushu, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka, Japan (Dr Kanba); the Laboratory for Molecular Dynamics of Mental Disorders, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, Japan (Dr Kato); the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Cincinnati, and the Lindner Center of HOPE, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States; the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Neuroscience, Dokuz, Eylül University, Narlidere, Izmir, Turkey (Dr Özerdem); the Department of Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Dr Vázquez); and the Bipolar Disorder Program and the Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain (Dr Vieta).doi:10.4088/JCP.10123co1c