The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network. I. Rationale and methods
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network (SFBN) was created to address the paucity of help studies in bipolar illness.
AIMS: To describe the rationale and methods of the SFBN.
METHOD: The SFBN includes five core sites and a number of affiliated sites that have adopted consistent methodology for continuous longitudinal monitoring of patients. Open and controlled studies are performed as patients' symptomatology dictates.
RESULTS: The reliability of SFBN raters and the validity of the rating instruments have been established. More than 500 patients are in continuous daily longitudinal follow-up. More than 125 have been randomised to one of three of the newer antidepressants (bupropion, sertraline and venlafaxine) as adjuncts in a study of mood stabilizers and 93 to omega-3 fatty acids. A number of open clinical case series have been published.
CONCLUSIONS: Well-characterised patients are followed in a detailed continuous longitudinal fashion in both opportunistic case series and double-blind, randomised controlled trials with reliable and validated measures.
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