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Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa part of research initiative aiming to transform bipolar disorder care

The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is the first international site of a research network aimed at accelerating the understanding of bipolar disorder and transforming care for people who live with it. Article content Bipolar disorder affects an estimated 40 million people around the world, including about 800,000 in Canada. In many cases, the disorder remains difficult to diagnose and treat effectively. Article content Article content Article content Dr. Jess Fiedorowicz, senior researcher and head of the department of mental health at The Ottawa Hospital, was awarded a grant worth more than $3 million to lead the first Canadian site of the Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder Integrated Network (BD2) in a partnership with Brain Canada. Article content Article content The funding will support a longitudinal study of 100 participants in Ottawa, said Fiedorowicz, who hopes an additional 200 patients undergoing treatment at The Ottawa Hospital will eventually be able to participate in the study. It will include advanced brain imaging and monitoring and is part of a global study that will eventually include 4,000 patients. Article content The funding also supports a learning health network that will use data and integration to improve patient care, Fiedorowicz said. The investment in bipolar disorder is badly needed, said Pamela Kanellis, chief research and program officer with Brain Canada. Article content 'There is a dearth of funding to address bipolar disorder,' she said. Article content Kanellis noted that it took, on average, seven years for patients to get diagnosed, misdiagnoses were frequent and many people were suicidal while they waited for diagnoses and treatments. Article content 'This is a dramatic disease that we need to get ahold of better,' she said. Article content Among the key challenges are delays in diagnosing patients and difficulty finding treatments that work. Article content More than 70 per cent of people with bipolar disorder are initially misdiagnosed, health officials say, and less than half find effective treatments. Article content 'It is a challenging diagnosis, even as an expert,' Fiedorowicz said. 'One of the challenges is that bipolar disorder can present differently over time.' Article content Bipolar disorder is characterized by periods of depression and mood elevation — mania — as well as periods without marked symptoms.