by Dr. Dilip Chaparala
Outpatient Medical Director, Manatee Glens
Unfortunately, mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally according to the National Institute of Mental Health. In the United States, about 22.1 percent of Americans over 18--more than one in every five adults--suffers from a mental disorder in any given year.
Fortunately, research has helped us develop the knowledge and ability to treat many of these crippling ailments, and ongoing research is helping us to learn even more. Manatee Glens is proud to be on the cutting edge of such research.
We’ve come a long way from the dark ages when citizens believed mentally ill people were possessed by the devil, or when shamed and fearful families hid away their suffering, no-longer-loved ones. Surprisingly, most of the advances in treatment have happened in the last 50 years: antipsychotic medications first became available in the mid-1950s. Since that time, pharmaceutical companies, treatment centers such as Manatee Glens and some people suffering from mental illnesses have teamed to develop and test new medications.
Research at Manatee Glens focuses on two serious mental illnesses: schizophrenia and mood disorders. Symptoms of schizophrenia usually appear in the late teens or early 20s, while mood disorders, including bipolar disorder (sometimes called “manic-depressive illness”), can become apparent even in children and adolescents. The emotional and economic burden on the individuals suffering from these illnesses and on their families is enormous.
At this time we do not have a cure for schizophrenia or mood disorders but we can treat them effectively. These illnesses are chronic in nature and therefore require ongoing observation. It is important to identify them early in order to begin immediate treatment. Any delay in treating these disorders will lead to more severe and difficult-to-treat illness; worse, a delay can contribute to the development of other disorders such as substance abuse.
Manatee Glens, a non-profit mental health agency, is conducting clinical trials to evaluate new medications for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We began collaborating with the University of South Florida in the fall of 2003 and with Florida Clinical Research Center in August 2004. Besides contributing to science through the development of new medications and determination of proper dosages, our goal is to minimize the burden on individuals and families.
We invite persons who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder to participate as volunteers in these trials. These people can help us find the fastest and safest way to treat the schizophrenia and mood disorders, for themselves and for others. Our research is carefully conducted under the watchful eyes of an Institutional Review Board--an independent committee of physicians, statisticians and community advocates. Psychiatrists from Manatee Glens who are collaborating in these studies include Dr. Jose Zaglul, Chief Medical Officer at Manatee Glens, and myself.
Volunteers will have a brief hospitalization period at the start of a trial, then report back for outpatient visits for a period of time determined by the particular study. Participants must be able to give consent personally or through a caregiver/legal guardian. All volunteers will receive free medication as well as a stipend for time and travel for all hospitalization days and outpatient visits during the period while they are active study participants.
To learn more about clinical trials at Manatee Glens or to volunteer to participate, please contact Shari Elliott at (941) 782-4299.
SIDEBAR
In addition to Manatee Glens, NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression) also supports scientific research in the causes, cures and treatment of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. On Saturday, January 7, the local branch of NARSAD sponsors the Ninth Annual Sunshine from Darkness Symposium at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Mental health researchers will present their latest findings at this Symposium. Among the speakers is the renowned Wade Berrettini, M.D., Ph.D., the Karl E. Rickels Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and one of the leading scientists investigating the genes of mental illness. He currently oversees six different projects that are searching for the genes associated with psychiatric illnesses, including bipolar disorder, anorexia nervosa, addiction and epilepsy. For further information about the NARSAD Symposium, please call 941-308-MIND or visit www.NARSADFlorida.com.