New collaboration to improve treatment for bipolar disorder

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Mayo Clinic is one of a handful of U.S. medical institutions to help advance care for people living with bipolar disorder.

Mayo is now part of the BD² Integrated Network within the field of psychiatry, hosted by BD²: Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder. As the name suggests, it combines clinical, behavioral and biological data, in a unified effort to improve care for patients.

Bipolar disorder affects nearly 40-million people around the world. It’s characterized by disruptive highs and lows in behavior. As many as seven in 10 people with the condition are misdiagnosed.

“Many individuals who live with this illness will describe many diagnoses that are incorrect until a bipolar diagnosis is made and treatment options,” said Dr. Mark Frye, a Mayo Clinic psychiatrist. “Medications that have been developed are inadequate to really meet the needs of individuals living with this illness today; we need to do better.”

Over the next five years, 4,000 people living with bipolar disorder will partake in a study. That will include Mayo Clinic patients.

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