Researchers have reviewed 77 meta-analyses spanning 116 different bipolar disorder treatments and identified the most effective ones across age groups and mood phases.
Researchers, led by those from The Ottawa Hospital in Canada and universities in Spain, Italy, France and the UK, have created EBI-BD (Evidence Based Interventions for Bipolar Disorder).
“We hope clinicians will be able to use the platform with their own patients to find the best balance between efficacy and side effects, according to each patient’s needs,” author Michele De Prisco, psychiatrist and researcher at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and the University of Barcelona, Spain, said. “Using the platform and its integrated preference tool, clinician and patient can decide together which treatment to consider next,” Dr De Prisco said. Author — Jess Fiedorowicz, head and chief of mental health at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa, said medications for the mental health disorder can come with varied side effects. The study is the first living umbrella review to include all treatment strategies assessed across any age group and phase of bipolar disorder from the largest and best meta-analyses available to date, the researchers said. “Living reviews like this one are game-changers when it comes to updating international treatment guidelines,” author Samuele Cortese, research professor at the University of Southampton, UK, said. The authors wrote, “The EBI-BD tool can help clinicians make evidence-based, personalised treatment decisions for bipolar disorder.”
