Introduction to the Conference
Welcome/Overview
The first two International Conferences on Bipolar Disorder
represented unique opportunities for researchers to share new information on the
neurobiology and pathophysiology of bipolar illness, on psychobiological and
psychosocial vulnerability factors, and on recent findings in epidemiology and
clinical course. Perhaps in part as a result of the impetus provided by these
two initial meetings, there has been a remarkable increase in funding, both
public and private, for research on bipolar disorder. Although we had initially
planned to wait until 2000 to convene the Third International Conference, the
pace of research in this area has been so rapid as to warrant a revisiting of
many research areas in 1999.
The conference presented
information on the following topics: the relationship between bipolar disorder
and suicide, neuroscience and neuroimaging, new approaches to the treatment of
bipolar depression, an update on the epidemiology of bipolar illness, the
influence of psychiatric and medical comorbidities on course and outcome, access
to services and health policy, and new pharmacotherapies and ways of testing
them. As in the past, the conference also featured "Ask the
Experts" question and answer sessions.
Presentations during the first two days of the conference
were technical and geared toward academic researchers and research-oriented
clinicians. Psychiatrists, psychologists, neuroscientists and pharmacologists
interested in bipolar disorder should find the content of the first phase of the
conference useful in their research and practice.
The third day of the conference, included sessions on mental health services access and policy and on suicide as well as
"Ask the Experts" sessions, geared toward audiences that
include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and other mental
health care workers as well as individuals who have bipolar disorder and their
families.
Conference Objectives:
At the close of the program, participants should be able to:
1. Identify psychosocial, genetic, and neurobiological risk
factors related to bipolar disorder.
2. List techniques used for assessment and treatment of
both classical and complicated or refractory cases of bipolar disorder.
3. Develop familiarity with new treatment
approaches.
Course Directors
Ellen Frank, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Samuel A.
Gershon, M.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
David J. Kupfer,
M.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Alan G. Mallinger,
M.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Michael E. Thase,
M.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Faculty
Hagop S. Akiskal,
M.D.
Veterans Administration Psychiatry
Service
San Diego, California
Lori Altshuler,
M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Jules Angst, M.D.
Psychiatric University Hospital
Zurich, Switzerland
John A. Ascher, M.D.
Glaxo Wellcome Inc.
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Susan E. Bachus,
Ph.D.
National Institute of Mental Health
Bethesda, Maryland
Ross J.
Baldessarini, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Mark Bauer, M.D.
Brown University School of Medicine
Providence, Rhode Island
Steve S. Carter,
Ph.D.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Giovanni B. Cassano,
M.D.
University of Pisa
Pisa, Italy
Paula J. Clayton,
M.D.
University of Minnesota Medical School
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Daniel P. Cole,
M.D.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan A. Fawcett,
M.D.
Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois
Debra Frankel,
L.S.W.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Howard Goldman,
M.D., Ph.D.
University of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Robert M.A.
Hirschfeld, M.D.
University of Texas Medical Branch
Galveston, Texas
Kay Jamison, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland
Gabor I. Keitner,
M.D.
Brown University School of Medicine
Providence, Rhode Island
Kelly J. Kelleher,
M.D., M.P.H.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Athanasio
Koukopoulos, M.D.
Centro Lucio Bini
Rome, Italy
Fouzia
Laghrissi-Thode, M.D.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Basel, Switzerland
Peter M.
Lewinsohn, Ph.D.
Oregon Research Institute
Eugene, Oregon
Husseini K. Manji,
M.D., F.R.C.P.
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Detroit, Michigan
Kathleen R.
Merikangas, Ph.D.
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, Connecticut
David Miklowitz,
Ph.D.
University of Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Gregory J. Moore,
Ph.D.
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Detroit, Michigan
Paolo Lucio
Morselli, M.D.
Instituto per la Ricerca e la Prevenzione della
Depressione e dell' Ansia
Milan, Italy
Eric J. Nestler,
M.D., Ph.D.
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, Connecticut
Atul Pande, M.D.,
F.R.C.P.C.
Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Steven M. Paul, M.D.
Lilly Research Laboratories
Indianapolis, Indiana
William Z. Potter,
M.D., Ph.D.
Lilly Research Laboratories
Indianapolis, Indiana
Noreen
Reilly-Harrington, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Perry F. Renshaw,
M.D., Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Gary S. Sachs, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Sylvia G. Simpson,
M.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland
Jair C. Soares,
M.D.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trisha Suppes,
M.D., Ph.D.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
Holly Swartz, M.D.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mauricio Tohen,
M.D., Dr.P.H.
Eli Lilly and Company
Indianapolis, Indiana
Steven J.
Verfaille, L.S.W.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Michael Von Korff,
Sc.D.
Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound
Seattle, Washington
Robert M.
Wettstein, M.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Lee K. Wolfson,
M.Ed.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Deborah
Yurgelun-Todd, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Disclosure Statement
