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BDRN
Bipolar Disorder
Mood Disorders Research
Annual Newsletter 2014/15
Research Network
Welcome to the 2014/15 edition
of the annual Mood Disorders
Research Newsletter.
Thank you very much to everyone
who has helped with our research
over the years.
As always, we are particularly
grateful to those who kindly
gave up their time and effort to
participate in our studies - without
your help the research quite simply
would not happen!
You will notice that we have not
included any questionnaires with
this year’s newsletter, instead in
response to numerous requests
we are offering the self mood
monitoring system True Colours to
all participants who have previously
taken part in our research.
We have included a leaflet about
this new innovative system with the
newsletter and further details can
also be found on page 2.
The Mood Disorders Research Team
Cardiff University
Professor Nick Craddock, Professor Ian Jones, Dr Liz Forty, Christine Fraser, Katie Lewis
Heather Jones, Andrew Bethell, Arianna Di Florio, Sarah Knott
University of Birmingham
Dr Lisa Jones, Dr Katherine Gordon-Smith, Amy Perry
www.bdrn.org
This year we are also particularly
interested in hearing from women
with bipolar disorder who are
currently pregnant. They can help
us find out more about the factors
that make some women with
bipolar disorder more or less likely
to experience episodes of illness
in relation to childbirth. There is
further information about this
research on page 5.
We hope you enjoy the newsletter.
True Colours is a system that monitors mood
symptoms using email.
It is hoped that True Colours can help
researchers learn more about how mood
symptoms change over time and are affected
by factors such as changes in routines, sleep,
alcohol use and medications.
The system has been designed by our
colleagues at the University of Oxford and we
are asking all participants who have bipolar
disorder and unipolar depression and have
previously taken part in our BDRN research if
they would be willing to join True Colours.
True Colours is an easy-to-use technology that
enables you to monitor your mood in an active
and ongoing way.
True Colours can send emails or texts to ask about your mood.
The system can send ‘prompts’, by email asking
you to answer simple questions about your
mood.
Your answers are converted into a graph which,
over time, shows changes and patterns which
can be helpful for you to see.
We have included a leaflet about True Colours
with this newsletter. If you would like to join
True Colours, or would like more information
on taking part you can either:
The BDRN and Oxford True Colours Teams
n Email, telephone or write to us - our
contact details are on the back of this newsletter.
n Fill in the form on the leaflet and return it to us in a sealed envelope to the FREEPOST address on the back of the leaflet.
We would be delighted to hear from you, and
look forward to sending you further details of
this exciting and innovative new system.
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An example of a graph produced by True Colours
Mood Disorders Research Team Update
Our research group has become
increasingly involved in a very large
international study investigating
genetic factors that may be involved
in causing susceptibility to bipolar
disorder.
We are working particularly closely
with colleagues in Boston and New
York; and have also been working
more widely with international
researchers who are studying other
important psychiatric illnesses,
including schizophrenia, unipolar
depression, autism and attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD).
An important paper that got a lot
of publicity was published in Spring
last year in the journal ‘The Lancet’
(see below). It showed that there
are some genes that can influence
susceptibility to more than one
illness.
That tells us that some of the same
chemical changes may play a role in
different psychiatric disorders. This
highlights that we should never talk
about ‘the gene for bipolar disorder’
or ‘the gene for depression’.
There are many genes that can
influence risk, just as there are many
non-genetic factors that influence
risk. This emphasizes the complexity
of mental illness, but also provides
strong scientific leads towards both
of our volunteers and supporters. So,
a big thank you to all.
I am also delighted to announce
that my long-time colleagues and
friends, Professor Ian Jones in Cardiff
and Dr Lisa Jones in Birmingham will
be taking over the leadership of the
Bipolar Disorder Research Network.
Professor Nick Craddock
improved diagnosis and better
treatments.
During the last year we have been
working on joint analyses that
include volunteers from the east and
west coasts of the United States, as
well as Sweden and our own BDRN
volunteers from the UK.
I am enormously grateful to
everyone who has given their time
and support to BDRN over the years
and I very much hope that you will
continue to do so in the future.
Publications will appear during 2014
and we will be able to give details
and web addresses in the next
newsletter—so watch this space!
In addition we have been busy with
lots of other important analyses
that address all sorts of aspects of
bipolar and related mood disorders;
and you will see these mentioned in
the pages of this newsletter.
Professor Ian Jones
As always, this important work is
impossible without the willing help
An important paper on genetic risk was published in The Lancet in February 2013
www.bdrn.org
This is a planned development that
will allow Ian and Lisa to continue
driving forward the research whilst
allowing me to devote more time
to other areas outside research. Of
course, I will continue to be involved
as an advisor and consultant; and
very much look forward to the
exciting developments ahead.
Dr Lisa Jones
Changes to our team
We said goodbye to some team
members at the end of last year.
In Birmingham, Amy Green is now
training to become a teacher and
Amie Shoebotham has moved to
a new research job at Warwick
University.
In Cardiff, Nia Holford (neé Fowler)
gained a place on the Clinical
Psychology Doctorate course at
Cardiff University.
She hopes to maintain links with
BDRN, and to explore her research
interests in perinatal psychosis as
part of her clinical doctorate. We
thank them all for their invaluable
contribution to BDRN and we wish
them well in their future careers.
We also wish good luck to Arianna
Di Florio who is taking up a post at
the University of North Carolina.
Katie Lewis is a PhD student funded
by the Medical Research Council
(MRC), who began her project with
the BDRN team in October 2013.
Katie and one of the special ‘Actiwatches’.
Her research examines the
relationship between bipolar
disorder and sleep loss and how
sleep loss experienced before and
after childbirth can affect women
with bipolar disorder.
Katie will be using a variety of
methods to measure sleep loss such as questionnaires and sleep
diaries.
She will also be using special activity
watches that detect when someone
is sleeping via built-in sensors.
She will also investigate the role
of genetic factors that make some
people more or less vulnerable to
the effects of sleep loss. We will
be sending out further information
about Katie’s research in the
New Year.
Keeping you in touch with our research
Over the coming years we are planning to have more
contact with past participants via email.
Many of you will have provided your email address when
you were first in contact with us.
If you have changed your email address or think you may
not have provided one at that time, please do update us
with your details by emailing
[email protected]
Alternatively, if you would prefer us not to contact you by
email, please let us know.
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We’d like to keep in touch by email.
Pregnancy and bipolar disorder volunteers needed
It is known that pregnancy and
the postpartum (postnatal) period
are times of increased risk of an
episode of illness for women with
bipolar disorder.
For many years our research group
has had a particular interest in
finding out more about the factors
that make some women with
bipolar disorder more or less likely
to experience episodes of illness in
relation to childbirth.
We are very grateful to those of you
who have already helped us with this
area of research.
Amy Perry, one of our BDRN research
assistants, who is studying for a PhD,
is currently interviewing women with
bipolar disorder who are pregnant to
help us take this research forward.
If you have bipolar disorder and are
currently pregnant, or if you become
Pregnancy can be a high risk time for women with Bipolar disorder.
pregnant in the future, Amy would
be delighted to hear from you.
For those of you who have already
participated in our BDRN research,
Amy will ask you to complete
some questionnaires during your
pregnancy, and will then speak to
you by phone 3 months after your
baby is born.
We hope this study will lead to
better prediction and treatments for
postpartum episodes.
If you would like further information
or would like to take part, contact
Amy Perry on 0121 301 2361 or email
[email protected]
Professor Ian Jones is an expert on bipolar and pregnancy:
“For women with bipolar disorder childbirth can be a high risk time - women
are 23 times more likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospital with bipolar
disorder in the month following delivery than at any other time in their life.
We do have some clues – we know that genetic factors are important, the big
hormonal changes that occur after having a baby may be involved, and sleep
disruption may also play an important role in some women.”
Professor Ian Jones
“We really need more research to help us understand what leads to these
episodes, to improve treatments and to help reduce the risk to women.”
Clare Dolman is a BDRN Research Champion and Bipolar UK Chair of Trustees.
Clare actively supports research into postpartum episodes of bipolar disorder
herself being hospitalised following the birth of her first child:
“Within days of being at home, after two sleepless nights at hospital, I started
accelerating into mania but very different to episodes I had experienced before.”
Clare remained well following the birth of her second child. “This time I started
taking lithium as soon as I had delivered my son. I also went home within a few
hours of delivery and had family to help look after the baby. This meant I could
relax and get a proper amount of sleep.”
www.bdrn.org
Clare Dolman
Medications and mood
Thank you again to everyone who
filled in the questionnaires that we
sent out with our last newsletter.
We had a fantastic response with
over 2500 of you completing them.
One of the questionnaires asked
individuals if they had ever noticed if
any drugs had affected their mood.
A fourth year medical student
at the University of Birmingham,
Steve Crockett, took a year out
of his medical degree to take an
intercalated BMedSc in Psychological
Medicine and analysed the
questionnaire responses for his
research project.
Steve looked for patterns in the
questionnaire responses (lots of
people reporting the same drugs
having the same effect on their
mood).
Researchers found that some drugs may affect mood.
The most common groups of drugs
that people reported had an effect
on their mood were i) antihistamines,
ii) cardiovascular drugs, iii)
contraceptives and hormonal
replacement therapy (HRT), iv)
painkillers, and v) statins. Looking at
how these drugs work in the body
may give us clues to new biological
pathways involved in mood
disorders. We are currently working
on taking the findings forward.
Migraine, epilepsy and bipolar disorder
It is known that some people with
bipolar disorder can also experience
migraine, epilepsy and seizures; or
both, but the reason for this is not
known.
Sarah Knott began her PhD study
in October 2012 with the aim
of investigating the relationship
between bipolar disorder, migraine
and epilepsy.
Sarah is assessing the prevalence of
migraine and epilepsy in individuals
with bipolar disorder, as well as
looking at the impact of these
disorders on the course of bipolar
illness.
This research has the potential to
increase our understanding of the
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relationship between these disorders
and so will have implications for
both research and clinical practice.
Sarah’s work has involved using some
of the data collected through the
BDRN interview and questionnaire
packs.
Sarah is currently collecting further
data through telephone interviews
and would like to say a big thank you
to all those who have contributed
to the study, for making this research
possible.
We will keep you updated with the
progress of Sarah’s PhD study in
future newsletters, and will share our
findings once all the data have been
collected.
Sarah is researching links
between migraine, epilepsy
and bipolar disorder
Gambling and mood disorders
A number of participants
may remember completing a
questionnaire a couple of years ago
asking about gambling habits and
behaviours.
Alice Metcalf a medical student
at the University of Birmingham
completed her research project on
the questionnaire responses for her
intercalated BMedSc in Psychological
Medicine.
We are very proud of Alice, who
obtained a first class mark for her
project and graduated with a first
class degree. This was the largest
ever UK study looking at the
gambling behaviours of individuals
with mood disorders.
Alice found moderate/severe risk
of problem gambling was around
four times higher in those with
bipolar disorder than in the general
population, and was non-significantly
increased in those with unipolar
depression.
A number of participants had experienced problems with online gambling
In bipolar disorder, being at risk of
moderate/severe problem gambling
may be associated with suicidal
behaviour and a rapid cycling illness
course.
disorder. This paper has recently
been accepted for publication in the
British Journal of Psychiatry.
Thank you to everyone who took the
time to complete this questionnaire.
These findings suggest clinicians
should consider assessing gambling
problems in individuals with bipolar
Bipolar Disorder Resources
Useful Books
Useful Websites
Bipolar Disorder: The Essential Guide by D Roberts
(2011), published by Need - 2 - Know
Bipolar Disorder Research Network: bdrn.org
Family Experiences of Bipolar Disorder by C Aiken
(2010), published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Living with Bipolar Disorder by N Burton (2009),
published by Sheldon Press
The A-Z Guide to Good Mental Health: You Don’t
Have to Be Famous to Have Manic Depression by J
Thomas and T Hughes (2008), published by Oneworld
Publications
Bipolar Disorder - The Ultimate Guide by S Owen and
A Saunders (2006), published by Michael Joseph Ltd
Become your own Bipolar Life Coach by Wendy Lavin
(2012), published by Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd
www.bdrn.org
Bipolar and Genetics Your Guide: bipinfo.org
Bipolar Education Programme Cymru: bep-c.org
Action on Postpartum Psychosis: app-network.org
Bipolar UK: bipolaruk.org.uk
Youthspace.me: youthspace.me
Depression Alliance: depressionalliance.org
Mind: mind.org.uk
Rethink: rethink.org
National Centre for Mental Health: ncmh.info
Bipolar programme wins innovation award
Many participants in BDRN who
live in Wales have taken part in
the Bipolar Education Programme
Cymru (BEPC).
BEPC is a psychoeducation course
designed to teach people with
bipolar disorder more about their
condition and equip them with the
tools they need to help manage their
illness.
In May 2014 the BEPC programme
won a prestigious innovation prize
at the British Medical Journal (BMJ)
awards, held at a ceremony in
London.
The awards recognise and celebrate
inspirational work done by medical
professionals and their teams across
the UK; and were judged by a panel
including senior representatives from
the Royal Colleges as well as leading
UK clinicians and academics.
The BEPCymru team celebrates after receiving the award
More than 3500 people have
benefited from taking part in BEPC
and its online counterpart, Beating
Bipolar, since its launch five years
ago, with courses taking place all
over Wales.
Professor Ian Jones said: “Everyone
involved with BEPC has worked
tirelessly to develop this programme,
and we intend to keep improving it
so that more people with bipolar
disorder can benefit from it and
hopefully enjoy a better quality of
life.”
Find out more about BEPCymru at
www.ncmh.info/bepcymru.
New DNA findings for Unipolar depression
In the past year we have contributed
to a number of published papers
that have used data from the
Depression Case Control (DeCC)
and Depression Network (DeNT)
family studies.
One of these studies found that
variations in DNA (called copy
number variants) were associated
with recurrent depression.
These findings are an important step
toward identifying the biological
underpinnings of the disorder.
A number of individuals receiving
this newsletter will have taken part
in these studies.
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The paper on the genetics of unipolar depression was published in
Molecular Psyciatry last year
National Centre for Mental Health Update
Over 3500 people have now come
forward to help the National
Centre for Mental Health with its
research.
mental illness and develop better
treatments for these conditions.
Together we can really make a
difference”.
Volunteers of all ages from across
Wales are helping the Centre to
learn more about the causes of
mental ill health. A better
understanding of mental health
disorders will help to improve
diagnosis, treatment and support in
the future.
The Centre is still looking for around
2500 more volunteers. We are
interested in all mental health
disorders, including bipolar disorder,
depression, ADHD, PTSD, Alzheimer’s
disease and dementia,
schizophrenia and autistic spectrum
disorders.
NCMH Director, Professor Ian Jones
said: “Its great that so many people
have taken part and we are
extremely grateful to them all.
With this help we can continue to
advance our understanding of
If you live in Wales and haven’t
already taken part in the Centre’s
research, you can volunteer at
www.ncmh.info, emailing
[email protected], or calling
029 2068 8401.
An NCMH research interview
Mental health and medication guide available now
Medication is one form of treatment
that can help relieve some of the
symptoms of mental illness. NCMH
provides access to a website called
Mental Health & Medication Wales
which is openly accessible to
everyone via the NCMH website www.ncmh.info.
The website provides useful and
easy to understand information
about mental health conditions and
the different medications used to
help treat these conditions.
For example, there is particular
information about the medications
that are used to treat bipolar
disorder and depression.
It gives answers to commonly asked
questions about conditions and
medications, and access to Printable
Patient Information Leaflets.
The independent and quality assured
content is written by specialist
mental health pharmacists and based
on best available evidence.
New resources available on www.ncmh.info
Our new Bipolar Disorder leaflet features information on symptoms, causes and
treatments for the condition. It also contains practical tips for people with bipolar and
also for their families, partners and carers. Download the leaflet in English or Welsh at
www.ncmh.info/bipolar-disorder-leaflet.
A new video section is also available from the ‘Resources’ menu, along with the Working
with Bipolar module mentioned in our last newsletter, which can be found under ‘Online
Tools’.
www.bdrn.org
Bipolar disorder documentary screened
Last Chance Saloon is a series of
films made by film maker Barry Gibb
on behalf of the Wellcome Trust.
The films follow photographer and
musician Neil “Twink” Tinning as
he embarks on a year-long journey
to understand mental illness while
recording an album and performing
live for the first time with his own
band.
Along the way Twink discusses a
whole range of mental health issues
with leading experts including
Professor Ian Jones and Professor
Nick Craddock.
The films were shown at a special
screening event in Cardiff earlier
this year, and have received
nominations and awards at a number
of international film festivals as far
afield as Toronto and Melbourne.
Last Chance Saloon star Neil “Twink” Tinning
Professor Jones said “These films
provide a real insight into what it is
like to live with bipolar disorder, and
just how important mental health
research is.”
If you would like to view the films,
they are available on the Wellcome
Trust’s Mosaic website, which can be
found here:
www.mosaicscience.com/stories.
Beating Bipolar - a free online resource
Launched in January 2011, Beating
Bipolar is the first web-based
education treatment for bipolar
disorder.
The intervention covers key areas
such as:
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diagnosis and causes of bipolar disorder
role of medication
relapse prevention and early intervention
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psychological approaches to treatment
the role of lifestyle in treatment of bipolar disorder
advice for family and carers
bipolar disorder and women.
The delivery of the intervention is
entirely web-based in the form of 8
modules consisting of video material
including a number of interactive
exercises in which users are invited
to feed back information about their
condition and use a forum, which
is moderated by a member of the
BEP-C team.
We are delighted to be able to offer
free access to Beating Bipolar to
everyone with a diagnosis of bipolar
disorder and to mental health
professionals in the UK.
Visit the Beating Bipolar website to
register: www.beatingbipolar.org.
Professor Nick Craddock awarded an
honorary Doctor of Medicine Degree
the Department of Psychiatry. It
was at this time that Nick led the
establishment of BDRN.
On 15th July this year, Professor Nick
Craddock was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Medicine degree from the
University of Birmingham. Gaining
an honorary degree is extremely
prestigious; this is the way that
universities honour individuals who
are particularly eminent in their field
and whose work is of exceptional
national and international
significance.
In 2002, Nick moved back to Cardiff
where he has stayed. The links
between the Universities of Cardiff
and Birmingham remain extremely
strong via BDRN.
Nick’s award was in honour of his
exceptional contribution to research
on bipolar disorder.
This gave all of us in BDRN the
opportunity to reflect back over
Nick’s life and career:
Nick was born and bred in Sutton
Coldfield, just north of Birmingham.
As a child he wanted to be a
physicist, and he progressed to
Cambridge University where he read
Natural Sciences, concentrating on
theoretical physics.
However, during his degree he began
to think about studying medicine as
he wanted to do something which
involved people and that would
make a tangible contribution both to
individuals and society.
After his graduation from Cambridge
with a first in Natural Sciences in
1980, he went on to study Medicine
at the University of Birmingham. He
then started his medical career in
neurology.
He soon found that the most
interesting people he came across
in his work were those with
neuropsychiatric or psychological
www.bdrn.org
Professor Craddock with
his honorary degree
problems, and he eventually decided
to specialise in psychiatry. Nick
trained as a psychiatrist in the West
Midlands.
During his training he attended a
lecture on the genetics of mental
illness, which opened his eyes
to the possibilities of psychiatric
genetics which he felt offered the
best chance of being able to make
a significant difference in mental
illness.
He then embarked on research
into psychiatric genetics, focused
on bipolar disorder. He moved to
Cardiff University to complete
his PhD, and spent one year at
Washington University in St Louis,
Missouri, USA.
In 1997 Nick moved back to
Birmingham as Professor of
Molecular Psychiatry and
Consultant Psychiatrist, and only
three years later became head of
In addition to being a world leader
in psychiatric genetics Nick has
done much to reduce the stigma
associated with bipolar disorder,
through the programme he made
with Stephen Fry “The Secret Life of
the Manic Depressive” and by being
the advisor to BBC EastEnders on
its storyline about a character with
bipolar disorder.
He is Scientific Advisor to Bipolar
UK and Action on Post-partum
Psychosis. He is the Treasurer of the
Royal College of Psychiatrists and
was until recently the Chair of its
Academic Faculty.
He has published over 370 academic
papers. He has been President of the
International Society of Psychiatric
Genetics and this year he was made
an Honorary Professor of Psychiatry
at the University of Oxford.
Outside of work, Nick and his wife,
Bridget (who is also a psychiatrist),
have a small farm on the Vale of
Glamorgan where they keep lots of
animals, including pigs, alpacas, cows,
geese, and sheep, and make cider
from the apples they grow in their
orchard.
Well done Nick, from everyone in
BDRN.
Help Partners2 improve Primary Care for
people with bipolar and schizophrenia
Partners2 is a five-year research
programme, based at universities and
study sites in Birmingham, Lancashire
and Devon. It aims to develop
a better model of primary care
services for people diagnosed with
bipolar and schizophrenia.
The PARTNERS2 research programme
complements the work of BDRN by
seeking to develop better services.
It includes many opportunities for
people with experience of bipolar
(as service users or as carers) to
influence how the research is done,
making sure it meets their needs and
aspirations.
Advisory Panels of people with Lived
Experience of bipolar (LEAPs) have
been set up (www.mcpin.org/ourwork/current-research) at each
of the three study sites to work
collaboratively with researchers
across the workstreams and stages
of the programme. Service user
researchers will work alongside the
academics in each site.
Focus groups have been held to
explore what people with lived
experience of living with bipolar or
schizophrenia (as service users or as
carers) would like their mental health
support to help them to achieve.
This information will help
researchers to measure and compare
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Mr & Mrs
Knowles for their donations to
the Mood Disorders Research
Team in memory of their son.
Thank you also to Dr Susannah
Vyvoda for her very kind
donation.
how effective different types of care
are in helping people with bipolar
to reach their goals, and to lead
healthier, more satisfying lives.
Cardiff University
Psychiatry Service
In early 2015 PARTNERS2 researchers
will be inviting people using services
in the three study sites to take part
in focus groups to discuss their
current care, their experiences
of moving between primary and
secondary care, and what being
discharged to primary care means to
them.
The Cardiff University Psychiatry
Service (CUPS) offers a second
opinion or consultation to
patients with complicated mental
health problems, with the aim
of assisting and advising both
clinicians and their patients in the
diagnosis and management of
severe mental illness.
If you are interested in joining one
of the LEAPs or focus groups, please
contact Ruth Sayers
[email protected] (PARTNERS2
PIiR Coordinator) at McPin
Foundation. Travel expenses and
payments or vouchers can be
claimed.
Requests for a second opinion
must be made by the doctor
in charge of the care of an
individual’s mental health – it
is not possible to accept selfreferrals.
To find out more about what
PARTNERS2 is planning to find out,
please visit the website:
www.bit.do/partners2
We hope to share more information
here as the study progresses.
There is no charge for this
service (either to the patient or
the referring NHS Trust). More
information can be found at:
www.tinyurl.com/cups2nd or by
e-mailing Elizabeth Upadhyay at
[email protected].
Contact Us
Birmingham
Mood Disorders Research Team
Department of Psychiatry
University of Birmingham
National Centre for Mental Health
25 Vincent Drive
Birmingham, B15 2FG
Cardiff
Mood Disorders Research Team
Cardiff University
Hadyn Ellis Building
Maindy Road
Cardiff
CF24 4HQ
Scan with your Smartphone to go
straight to the BDRN website
0121 3012361
[email protected]
029 2068 8395
[email protected]
www.bdrn.org