Bipolar Disorder: An Evidence-Based Clinical Guide

Bipolar disorder is a complex disease and requires specialized care for its assessment and effective treatment. It has a worldwide prevalence of about 2% and is among the top 10 leading causes of disability adjusted life years in young adults. Additionally, people with bipolar disorder die around 10 years earlier, and the lifetime risk of suicide is estimated to be at least 20 times that of the general population. Although these findings illustrate the severity and complexity of this illness, we are living exciting times in the field of bipolar disorder for several reasons.

Over the last 20 years, novel and evidence based pharmacological and psychosocial strategies have been added to the treatment of bipolar disorder. Several studies addressed the natural history of the disease and showed that the course of bipolar disorder is heterogeneous but, on average, the risk of recurrence increases with the number of previous episodes. Neuroscience has shed light on the molecular underpinnings of the potential decline in cognition and physical health that takes place in some people with bipolar disorder. Some studies added weight to the theory that immune activation is a key component in driving the changes that take place in the brain and its periphery. Lastly, new technologies and lifestyle approaches are gaining tracking in the field of bipolar disorder. Smartphone apps and sensors have promise to provide the means to digital interventions. Moreover, machine learning algorithms and big data have the potential to pave the way to predictive psychiatry, an exciting new field, where the use of large data sets may allow us to predict responses and clinical outcomes, such as suicide attempts.

The book is intended for psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals. Written by experts, the 41 chapters are divided in six sections to discuss: The natural history of bipolar disorder; Biological underpinnings; Pharmacological treatment; Psychosocial interventions; Special populations; and New approaches to diagnosis and intervention. It will also discuss the use of antipsychotics and lithium as disease modifying agents, and clinical progression and neuroprogression concepts.

Bipolar Disorder - An Evidence-Based Clinical Guide will arm clinicians and researchers with the latest findings, as well as refine the necessary skills to provide the best clinical care.

Ives Cavalcante Passos, MD, PhD is a professor of psychiatry at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil. He completed his postdoctoral research on neuroscience and artificial intelligence at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) - Houston, Texas USA. In 2016, he was selected as Young Physician Leader by the Interacademy Medical Panel and M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers. Dr. Passos has a total of 125 peer-reviewed articles published in top psychiatric journals in Pubmed. He published a total of 5 books, including the Springer books entitled “Personalized Psychiatry - Big Data Analytics in Mental Health” and “Digital Mental Health”.

Michael Berk, MD, PhD Professor Michael Berk is currently a NHMRC L3 research Fellow and is Alfred Deakin Chair of Psychiatry at Deakin University and Barwon Health, where he heads the Institute for Innovation in Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT). He also is an Honorary Professorial Research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health and Orygen Youth Health at Melbourne University, as well as in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. He has published over 1600 papers and is listed by Thompson Reuters ISI as highly cited (2015-2024). His major interests are in the discovery and implementation of novel therapies.

Flávio Kapczinski, MD, MSc, PhD, FRCPC is a leader in the field of research on bipolar disorder, an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at McMaster University, and a full professor at UFRGS. Prof. Kapczinski has also served as a mentor, with several former trainees currently occupying important academic positions around the globe. Currently he is among the three most productive researchers in the field of bipolar disorder, and among the five most influential researchers in psychiatry in Canada. In 2013, he received the Mogens Schou Prize for Education from the International Society of bipolar disorders. Clarivate Inc (formerly Thomson Reuters) lists Prof. Kapczinski among the most influential minds in academia, and he has a total of 604 peer-reviewed articles in Pubmed. He published a total of 9 books, including the Springer books entitled “Personalized Psychiatry - Big Data Analytics in Mental Health” and “Digital Mental Health”.