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The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) has awarded Dr. Martha Sajatovic of Case Western Reserve University $600,000 as the winner of the Bowden-Massey Strategic Research Initiative in Bipolar Disorder Award (more below) for her research aiming to collect and harmonize databases from several different international sites in order to understand how bipolar disorder symptoms may change with age.
The challenges we all face as we age may be compounded for those with bipolar disorder, with impacts on thinking, existing medical conditions like heart disease and diabetes, and reduced mobility and social interaction. Being able to anticipate these impacts, we can better plan for and provide services that are appropriate, efficient and optimize the quality of life for those living with bipolar disorder as they age. The Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder Database (GAGE-BD) aims to close the gaps in our current understanding of symptom development across the adult lifespan. By looking at demographic and socio-economic variables and honing in on areas such as cognition and medical burden across multiple datasets, the hope is to be able to identify those at greatest risk for worsening of symptoms and a corresponding decline in functioning so that treatment plans may be modified to anticipate and accommodate these changes.
The ultimate goal for this project is to develop the GAGE-BD Consortium, a group of investigators committed to studying these issues in older adults using a standardized set of consensus measures, ready to collaborate with other groups to carry out clinical trials and prospective longitudinal studies. The Bowden Massey Strategic Research Initiative in Bipolar Disorder is an Award made possible through the generous donation of Charles Bowden and Virginia Massey Bowden and the Bowden Massey Foundation. The Award aims to stimulate new directions and bipolar research by leveraging the international collaborations within the ISBD and the development of private funding sources to support this research.
The International Society for Bipolar Disorders is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster international collaboration in education and research. For more information, visit www.isbd.org.