Conference To Launch UB Treatment Program For Bipolar Disorder

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo has been selected as one of 20 clinical sites across the United States to provide a specialized treatment program for persons with bipolar disorder, known in lay terms as manic-depression.

Five hundred people from Western New York will be eligible for the treatment.

Uriel Halbreich, M.D., UB professor of psychiatry, will head the project, which is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

An all-day symposium on the diagnosis and management of bipolar disorder, to be held June 9 in the Albright Knox Art Gallery auditorium, will launch the clinical effort.

The symposium will feature major specialists in the field:

• Robert Post, M.D., chief of the Biological Psychiatry Branch of NIMH, will speak on the biology of bipolar disorder at 8:30 a.m.

• Gary Sachs, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, will discuss pharmacologic treatment at 9:15 a.m.

• Michael Thase, M.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will discuss the role of psychosocial interventions at 10:30 a.m.

• Lydia Lewis, director of the National Manic-Depressive Association, will present the consumer perspective on diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorders at 11:15 a.m.

The afternoon will be devoted to workshops on clinical management of the disease, and the involvement of family and friends in treatment. Post, Sachs and Thase will conduct the clinical workshop, which will be directed toward psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses and allied-health professionals.

The second workshop will be directed by Lewis and representatives from NIMH and the National Manic-Depressive Association, and will be geared to families of depressed and manic-depressive persons.

The treatment program, which will begin enrolling patients soon after the symposium, will be a very structured treatment regimen involving state-of-the art medications, combined with psychotherapy.

Halbreich said bipolar disorder is poorly diagnosed and when it is diagnosed, it often is not treated properly.

"The consequences of misdiagnosis and misguided treatment can be dramatic," he said, "and may have a long-term impact on the well-being and quality of life of patients and family."

Persons interested in the treatment program may call 898-4312. Those interested in attending the symposium may call the UB Department of Psychiatry at 898-5940. The registration deadline is June 2.